DigimonEXE
by Wolf-ODonnell
Summary: The Year is Post Apocalypse 175. Takato and friends must use their D.I.G.I.M.O.N. to fight against the evil Hypnos Terrorist Group. Can they do it? Only time will tell... Dedicated to KinuUni and her picture, Sweet. Contains mainly Rukato and JenryaRyo
1. Prologue

Digimon.EXE 

By Wolf O'Donnell

WARNING! May contain Alternative Universe situations and out-of-character experiences. Upon reading this, you hereby agree that you forfeit all your rights to sue me and that I cannot be held liable for any psychological or physical damage caused by the fact that I use British English spelling and that this fanfic contains non-graphic depictions of a heterosexual and homosexual nature. Digimon is copyrighted by Bandai and Toei Animation Ltd. Wolf O'Donnell is copyrighted by Nintendo Ltd, although that might have nothing to do with the fanfic. Digimon.EXE is based on Rockman.EXE, which is copyrighted by Capcom Ltd. Constructive criticism is very welcome.

* * * * *

Prologue  
Generations ago, a meteorite struck the Earth and caused a great disaster that befell all those that lived on the planet. Countless died and the environment was wrecked beyond belief. It took several years and plenty of hard work to return the Earth to normal. To prevent further incidents, nations of the Earth banded together and built the Orbital Space Ring. It was a gigantic ring-shaped space station built around the Earth and designed to spot further meteorites and destroy them before they reach the planet.

With the expansion of technology that followed after, the Digital Age was created. Everyone now carries a portable exploration device called a D-Scanner. This Digital Scanner acts as an advanced portable digital assistant. Using it, you can make phone calls, send and receive e-mails, keep a calendar, store data, shop online and check news from around the Earth Sphere (the Earth and the Space Ring). These D-Scanners have become so convenient and useful that they have become essential for everday life!

Every D-Scanner has a program installed into it called a Digital Interface Global Information Manager and Online Navigator or DIGIMON for short. By customing your D-Scanner's Digimon program, you can give it a unique personality and even talk to it and befriend it.

The year is now Post Apocalypse 175. The Earth's environment is now controlled by specialised machines and programs. Earthquakes, tornadoes, the hole in the ozone, and several other environmental disasters of the past are now non-existent. The Colonists live in harmony with the people of the Earth. However, not all is good. With the expansion of the digital world, digital crimes are raging. Hacking and computer virus epidemics have become major issues. At the top of the criminal list is the mysterious organisation called Hypnos, a group of incorrigible computer hooligans.

To protect their D-Scanners, people have begun installing DigiModifying Chips- special chips encoded with battle programs. When a DigiModifiying Chip is inserted it arms your Digimon and aids it in fighting off viruses and hackers. It's so important that it is now even taught in schools.

However, even the common person cannot seem to fend off attentions of the Hypnos Organisation. These digital terrorists seem to have some secret motive, one that has been kept secret to the world. Every one of their attacks have been terrifyingly efficient, striking at the heart of nations and that of the Earth. Even the usual net criminals stay well away from Hypnos.

No one knows what Hypnos is truly up to and how it gets its funds. All people know is that Hypnos has to be stopped, before it somehow takes over the world. That is the purpose of the new Devas, a group of people trained in battling with criminal Digimon and viruses. However, will the Devas be able to defeat Hypnos? Only time will tell...

**_To be continued..._**


	2. Session 1: Kaze wo tsukinukite

Digimon.EXE 

By Wolf O'Donnell

WARNING! May contain Alternative Universe situations and out-of-character experiences. Upon reading this, you hereby agree that you forfeit all your rights to sue me and that I cannot be held liable for any psychological or physical damage caused by the fact that I use British English spelling and that this fanfic contains graphic acts of a heterosexual and homosexual nature (not applicable to FanFiction.net version), extreme violence and use of swear words. Digimon is copyrighted by Bandai and Toei Animation Ltd. Wolf O'Donnell is copyrighted by Nintendo Ltd, although that might have nothing to do with the fanfic. Constructive criticism is very welcome.

* * * * *

Session 1: Kaze wo tsukinukite  
    Guilmon ran along the silvery path as quickly as he could, which floated in a sea of darkness. There was no ground except for the silver paths and square floors that floated within the dark ether. This was the Digital World, the home of all Digimon. 0s and 1s floated in the sea of darkness around the silvery path, but that was just about it. There were very little other landmarks to tell the Digimon where he was. Sure there were a few sites, and sometimes the silvery path gave way to a coloured, tiled floor that kept changing colours and had hypnotic, swirling patterns within it, but that was about it.  
    The Digimon looked like a little red dinosaur with a white stomach and a grey hazard symbol on his belly. He was a virus-class Digimon. All Digimon were separated into three classes, five types and six levels. The three classes were data, vaccine and virus. Data class Digimon were very similar to data packets and thus could travel through the Digital World more quickly than any other Digimon. In fact, data Digimon are the quickest of the lot. Vaccine Digimon were poorly named. Really, they should have been named Anti-Virus, because they were really good at virus-busting. When it comes to attacking viruses and other Digimon, vaccine-class Digimon are the best. Then there are the virus-class, which are similar in digital structure to the computer viruses. Simple computer viruses cannot distinguish the difference between a virus-class Digimon and a fellow virus, so simple computer viruses leave virus-class Digimon alone.  
    Then there are the nine types- normal, water, wood, earth, electrical, mechanical, holy, dark and fire. Water types include any Digimon with water attacks and those that usually dwell in the water. Wood types are any plant Digimon. Earth types include any Digimon that can dig and any rock Digimon. Electrical Digimon are any with electrical attacks. Mechanical types are self-explanatory. Holy Digimon are those like Angemon, Digimon with light attacks. Dark Digimon are mostly virus-class Digimon that have shadow attacks or are classified evil. Guilmon fell into the last category, the fire type. Fire type Digimon are all those that have fire attacks.  
    Of course, there are the six levels- New Born, Baby, Child, Adolescent, Adult and Mega. Guilmon was only a Rookie level Digimon, but he still packed quite a punch. It was possible to upgrade the level of your Digimon, but it was a difficult process that involved absorbing quite a lot of data before the Digimon could digivolve.  
    "Guilmon, turn left here!"  
    The red, scaly Digimon complied. He passed a directions sign, but paid no attention to it. There was no need to pay attention to the sign, as his Operator was giving him directions. Besides, he was the one that put the sign up there in the first place. By the way, just in case you were wondering, Operator is the term for the owner of a Digimon. Any person that owns a D-Scanner, which is practically everyone, is an Operator. He stopped in his tracks.  
"Takato!" he called out to his Operator. "There's some kind of firewall here!"

* * * * *

    The brown-haired kid scratched his head, as he sat at his computer. He looked at the screen, which displayed an isometric view of his Digimon. The firewall was respresented on his screen as a door made up of horizontal, flickering neon bars. The Operator, Takato, wore a red bandana around his neck, a blue shirt, brown cargo shorts and white socks that were just a little bit too large for him.  
"I don't remember there being a firewall there," Takato told his Digimon. "Are you sure you took the right turn?"  
    "Takato, I followed your directions," whined Guilmon's voice from the loudspeakers. He walked back a little bit and saw the sign. "Yep, that's definitely the portal to Ruki's computer." He then turned around to face the screen, a difficult thing to do when he couldn't see where it was. He wasn't exactly sure how he heard Takato's voice, either. "What shall I do now?" he asked.  
    "Hold on," sighed Takato, as he pressed a button at the top of his keyboard, which was labelled 'phone' and then typed in a number. There was an emulated dialling noise, before he heard a familiar voice.  
    "Moshi, moshi, Ruki speaking," announced a voice that sounded rather tom-boyish nature.  
    "Er... hi, Ruki," stuttered Takato. He didn't know why, but Ruki always seemed to make him feel nervous. That girl had balls, most likely ripped off the last boy that had crossed her path. Silence. Takato was so nervous, he wasn't saying a word. "You wanted me to deliver something to you and Guilmon's just outside the portal to your computer, but we can't get through," he blurted out quickly, afraid of getting her impatient.  
    Ruki sighed.  
"Hold on, Takato, I'll send you the passcode," she said in a frustrated manner, before there was a click as she put down the phone.

* * * * *

    Guilmon saw the firewall flicker and then disappear. On the other side was Renamon, Ruki's Digimon. She was an anthropomorphic fox with yellow and white fur.  
"Hi," he greeted, his tail wagging happily. He was a very friendly Digimon and even though Renamon scared him at times, he would always be friendly to her. The Digimon was sure that they would be able to become friends sooner or later and he woud very much like that.  
    "So, you've got the repair program?" asked Renamon, as she walked across the silvery path towards Guilmon.  
    "Guys, watch out!" shouted Takato's voice. "Viruses!"  
    The red dinosaur Digimon turned round to see a SpyEye virus, which looked like a flower stem with petals and an eye as its flower. There were two of them.  
"Easy!" he exclaimed, before inhaling and spitting out a sphere of fire straight towards one of the SpyEyes. His attack smashed into the SpyEye and caused the thing to break up into bits of tiny digital data that dispersed into the air to reveal a small blue-silver diamond- what was known as a data capsule or datacap for short.  
    "Hey, what about the repair program?" asked Renamon. She got no response, as Guilmon tore into the last SpyEye with his claws. The Digimon shook her head with a sigh.  
    "I'm sorry," apologised Guilmon, as he stood by the second datacap. "Would you like one?"  
    Renamon walked gracefully over to the first datacap that appeared.  
"Yes, please," she replied, before she took the datacap into her hand and absorbed the data from it. "Hm, nice. An Invisi1 advance."  
    "Oh, I just got a shield advance," whined Guilmon miserably. For some strange reason, he kept getting shield advances from the SpyEyes, when he could get an Invisi1 from them. Advances, by the way, are the nicknames for any bit of data that can be used to DigiModify a Digimon.  
    "Don't forget the repair program," Ruki reminded her Digimon.  
    "Yes, that's right," agreed Renamon. She extended a paw out towards Guilmon. "Would you mind?" Guilmon nodded in acknowledgement and handed a round, spherical data packet or datapack to Renamon. "Thank you," she thanked him.  
    "Er, Ruki, did you know they're holding Deva Licence Exams at the DigiSquare now?" asked Takato, as he thought about the square within the Digital World, where Digimon could chat, shop and get things repaired. "Would you like to go down there tomorrow and...?"  
    Ruki laughed, as she thought of Takato doing an exam.  
"Sure thing," she replied. "It would be nice to have a Deva Licence." There was a pause, as she went to find her planner program. "Why don't we meet at ten tomorrow?" she asked Takato. "At the DigiSquare?"  
    "Sure, ten would be fine," replied Takato. "Oh, wait!" he called out, before she left. "Do you think we should invite Jenrya and Ryo?" he asked her.  
    For a while, Ruki didn't reply.  
"Nah! There's no need," she told them. "Those two lovebirds will eventually find out. Besides, doesn't Jenrya's dad work at the Deva Centre? Surely Jenrya would have heard about them by now. Heck, he's probably the one giving the exam!"  
    Though it couldn't be seen by any of the Digimon within the Digital World, Takato grinned at that comment.  
"Yeah, I guess you're right," he said. There was a silent pause. "So, I'll see you tomorrow at the DigiSquare!" he told her.  
    "Yeah, see you," stated Ruki. "Renamon, jack out!"  
    Renamon nodded in reply.  
"Yes, Ruki," she stated, before she turned into a column of white light that shot upwards towards the black sky filled with glowing 0s and 1s.  
    "Guilmon, jack out!" ordered Takato and seconds later, Guilmon did the same.

* * * * *

    Takato reached out and pulled the D-Scanner out of the mini-tower. He then switched the computer off carefully. A yawn escaped his mouth, as he stood up and walked towards the window. Looking out, he looked at the sky and saw metal. It was dark outside. It was night within the Orbital Space Ring, in which he lived.  
    "Takato, shouldn't you be going to bed?" asked Guilmon's voice from the D-Scanner, which was white and looked like a flip-top phone. On the little screen was a pixelated picture of Guilmon's face. "It's late," he told his Operator, "and you know how hard it is for you to get out of bed."  
    "I don't see you getting up earlier than me," retorted Takato. It was true, the both of them were very heavy sleepers and it would probably take a nuclear explosion to wake the two of them up. He laughed. "Well, I guess you're right, Guilmon," he chuckled. "I'll take a bath, brush my teeth and go straight to bed." He placed his D-Scanner down on the bedside table, before walking past a poster of Takuya from Digimon Frontier and out of the bedroom.  


    There was a similar poster on Jenrya's bedroom wall, except that it was custom drawn by a friend of his and featured Takuya and Koji in a shounen-ai position. Something suddenly began to ring within the room. It rang again and again and several more times.  
    "Jenrya!" called out his Digimon, Rapidmon. "Jenrya! Wake up!" The Digimon sighed. "Figures! He's tired himself out. Jenrya!"  
    There was a sound that was something between a moan, groan and an exclamation of surprise. Jenrya, a blue-haired half-Chinese, half-Japanese youth, disentangled himself from the arms of his brown-haired lover and reached for his D-Scanner. He flipped the top.  
"What is it, Rapidmon?" he asked his Digimon.  
    "Phone call from your dad," replied the Champion-level vacccine-class Digimon.  
    Jenrya placed the device against his ear.  
"Dad?" he slurred. "What you're calling me at this hour for?" he asked.  
    On the other end there was a murmuring background noise like that of several alarmed headless chickens trying to find their heads.  
"Jenrya, it's only eight o'clock!" protested Mr. Lee. "Don't tell me you're with Ryo!"  
    "Well..." began Jenrya and trailing off at the end.  
    There was a sigh on the other end of the line.  
"Look, Jenrya, we've got a bit of a problem down at Deva HQ," replied Lee Jianyiu, one of the Orbital Ring's leading scientists and experts on Digimon. "Let me explain the situation. There's currently been a huge viral infection in Phyle DigiSquare and we're having problems dealing with it. Would you mind sending Rapidmon over to help out?"  
    "Sure thing, dad," replied Jenrya calmly. "Rapidmon'll be right there." He paused a minute and listened to what his father said. "Okay! Sure. Bye!" He then pressed a button and ended the call. "So, did you catch that Rapidmon?" he asked.  
    "Huh? What's going on now?" mumbled Ryo, as he rose up from the bed.  
    "Nothing much," he replied before giving Ryo a kiss on the nose. "I've just got to sort something out in the Digiworld. Don't worry, I'll be real quick."  
    A sly grin spread across Ryo's face.  
"You'd better be," he said in a mischievous tone of voice, "coz I've got something very special planned."  
    "Oh, like what?" asked Jenrya.  
    "You'll just have to beat all those viruses to find out," replied Ryo and he smiled widely.

* * * * *

    There are places within the Digital World that even the bravest Digimon daren't venture. One of these places is the DarkNet. It is a place deep within the Digital World that only the most vicious of criminal Digimon venture. Somewhere within the DarkNet is the DarkSquare, the criminal version of the Digital World's many DigiSquares. It is where all the criminal lowlifes of the Digital World gather.  
    Here, the paths are black and lined with dead trees. Here, the ramps glow with orange or blue or green lights. Within the DarkNet, 0s and 1s didn't float in the ether around the paths. There was only static in the background. This was truly a frightening place for any Digimon concerned.  
    However, even these criminal Digimon daren't venture further into DarkNet and into a place that had been nicknamed, the Dark Ocean. It was a region filled with firewalls and security programs, an area that led to a part of the Digital World owned and completely controlled by the most infamous criminal organisation ever, Hypnos.  
    The ether within Hypnos was different from the part of the Digital World in which Takato and Ruki constantly used. It was different to the ether within the DarkNet. The paths were even different. The paths were light blue and the ether was white, with the Hypnos symbol floating within it instead of 0s and 1s.  
    "It's rumoured that somewhere in the DarkNet is a Digimon without an Operator," stated one of the Hypnos Digimon. "They say his name is Beelzemon and that those that lay eyes on him, never leave to tell the tale. If we can get him on our side, we..."  
    "Silence!" roared another voice, one that was deep and growled like a wolf. It was the voice of the mysterious Leader of Hypnos. No one knew who this Leader was for sure and the fact that he used the Digital World to communicate with most of his minions, made it almost impossible to find out his true identity. "I will not hear of this! There is no need to rely on him, when we can create the Ultimate Digimon!"  
    "I know, but..." began the first Digimon, only to be interrupted again.  
    "I shall not hear another word of such insolence!" interrupted the Hypnos Leader. "Kenta, see to it that your Digimon is suitably punished." There was a silent pause as if the voice was taking time to think. "Now, let us move on to the next agenda, shall we?" The voice chuckled. "To complete our Super Digimon, we must scour the Digital World for the proper components. There must not be any hindrances to our plans!"  
    "Of course, sir!"  
    There was an evil chuckle.  
"Hirokazu, I trust that you have got everything ready?" asked the Hypnos Leader.  
    "Yes, sir!" came the reply from the Operator of the Digimon. "Operation Viral Overload is go!"  
    The Hypnos Leader laughed.  
"Excellent!" he exclaimed. "Nothing can stop us now! Nothing!"

**_To be continued..._**


	3. Session 2: Gotta Knock a Little Harder

**Digimon.EXE**

**By Wolf O'Donnell**

WARNING! May contain Alternative Universe situations and out-of-character experiences. Upon reading this, you hereby agree that you forfeit all your rights to sue me and that I cannot be held liable for any psychological or physical damage caused by the fact that I use British English spelling and that this fanfic contains graphic acts of a heterosexual and homosexual nature (not applicable to FanFiction.net version), extreme violence and use of swear words. Digimon is copyrighted by Bandai and Toei Animation Ltd. Wolf O'Donnell is copyrighted by Nintendo Ltd, although that might have nothing to do with the fanfic. Constructive criticism is very welcome.

* * * * *

Session 2: Gotta Knock a Little Harder  
    Guilmon got to the DigiSquare's entrance. Instead of 0s and 1s floating around the paths that led to the Square's entrance, there was the symbol of the Devas, a rectangle with rounded sides and a thin, rectangular shape within it that stuck out on either sides. Fans of the Digimon Series would recognise it as the symbol that appears on practically almost every Digimon product.  
    The entrance looked like a blue, square table with a gigantic ash-tray in the middle with wires coming out of it. Four paths led away from this square, each one leading to a portal. Three of the portals led out to the Digital World, two leading towards InphyNet- the part of the Digital World that corresponded to the Inphynitio section of the Orbital Space Ring- and the third led out to Zerva, a nexus of portals that led to various parts of the Digital World. The fourth portal led towards the Official DigiSquare.  
    That was where Guilmon was. The Official DigiSquare was run specifically by the Devas, unlike the other DigiSquares, which were run by the local Governments of the region. The place looked like any normal square in any normal Real World town, except for the fact that there were no buildings and that the sky was black and filled with symbols. The DigiSquare was filled with little carts where Digimon sold Advances and SubAdvances. To the south-east was a house-shaped door, which led to the message forums.  
    "There you are," stated Renamon, her arms crossed in front of her chest, as she leaned against a digital tree. "You're late."  
    "Yeah, we've been waiting forever for you to show up," growled Cyberdramon, Ryo's Digimon.  
    "Sorry, guys, but Takato overslept," apologised Guilmon, as he ran up to the others.  
    "Again?" sighed the Digimon in unison.  
    Renamon unfurled her arms and stepped away from the tree.  
"Come on, let's go take the test," stated the fox Digimon.  
    Guilmon looked around him. He couldn't see Rapidmon anywhere around them. There were all sorts of Digimon around him. However, there wasn't any Rapidmon there. He began to wonder. Wasn't Jenrya taking the test too?  
"Where's Rapidmon?" he asked curiously, as he looked around him. He tried sniffing the air for Rapidmon's scent but got none.  
    "He's been called out to Phyle DigiSquare," replied Cyberdramon. "Something real bad's going on down there."  
    "Shouldn't we help?" asked Guilmon.  
    "Nah, he can take care of himself," replied Renamon in a dismissive manner. She walked past the tree and towards a narrow path that led to a house-shaped door. This led towards the Officials' Digital HQ, where the Devas were established.  
    DEVA, an organisation set up by Dr. Yukio Oikawa. The entire organisation was initially created in order to fight against the crime Syndicates, but when Hypnos appeared on the scene, the Organisation received more funds in order to battle against Hypnos. DEVA stood for Digital Earth Volunteer Army. All Devas answered to Dr. Yukio Oikawa, one of the many Officials that monitored and controlled the environment of the Digital World.  
    And now, Guilmon and Takato were close to becoming a part of the esteemed DEVA Organisation. The fire-type Digimon couldn't wait.  


    "Rapid Fire!" Several missiles flew through the air and towards the hordes of computer viruses that advanced towards him. That didn't seem to damage the black and white tiled floor of Phyle DigiSquare. Rapidmon couldn't believe the number that were spreading through Phyle DigiSquare. It was unprecedented. "It's no use, Jen," protested Rapidmon, as he saw more viruses advancing towards him. "The more I destroy, the more appear. There's no end to these guys!"  
    "Hang on in there, Rapidmon!" called out Jenrya. "I'm sending you a couple of advances."  
    Rapidmon dodged the unwanted advances of a Baku virus. It looked like a ghost. The annoying thing about Bakus was their ability to practically transport out of harm's way. Bakemon, Digimon that were based around the Baku virus, could use that ability whenever they wanted. Rapidmon, luckily, was just as fast.  
"Take this!" he roared, as he lashed out at a Baku, punching the ghost-like computer virus in the face. "And this!" he cried out, smashing a foot into the next one.  
    The Advances that Jenrya promised suddenly arrived. They manifested themselves in order- smiley bomb, big smiley bomb and energetic bomb. The DigiModifying data merged to form an Ultrabomb. Perfect. Rapidmon threw the explosive into the air and at the viruses. There was a huge blast. They were gone.  
"Yes!" cried Rapidmon.  
    "Hang on, more are coming!" cried Jenrya in disbelief. "Why is this happening?"  
    The bunny Digimon's eyes were set on the viruses. They were coming through a hole in the ether, which was orange and had flowers in it, instead of the Deva Symbol or 0s and 1s.  
"It must have something to do with that hole," stated Rapidmon, as he rushed forward and smashed a fist into the face of a Mame virus, sending it flying back into its virus buddies.  
    "We know that, Rapidmon," stated a deep voice that could only belong to Jenrya's dad. "What we'd like to know is where they're coming from."  
    "Dad, I don't think Rapidmon can take anymore," Jenrya told his father. "You've got to shut the hole now!"  
    "But we haven't found out where it leads to yet," protested another voice, which belonged to Dr. Lee's assisstant.  
    "Forget about that," shouted Jenrya's Father. "Just shut it!"  
    "Yes, sir!"  
    Rapidmon flew back. It was time for his special Tri-Beam. He extended his arms out, before firing a green, triangular beam of energy straight at the viruses. It wiped them out, blowing them away, just as the scientists in the Real World shut the hole.  
    "Are you okay, Rapidmon?" asked Jenrya.  
    "I'm fine, thanks, Jen," replied Rapidmon, as he dropped down to the floor. "Boy, am I pooped, though."

* * * * *

    The Officials at the large supercomputer sighed in relief. The Phyle crisis was over. However, something didn't seem quite right. As Officials, some dressed in the blue jacket and black trousers uniform and other dressed in white labcoats, walked away to attend to their own projects, one stayed behind at the computer within the room filled with similar computers and machines.  
    That one was Dr. Lee and his jacket was brown instead of blue. He and his son, stayed at the large supercomputer.  
"I'm sure that Hypnos was responsible for that," he stated, as he turned his back to the large supercomputer. "But why were they doing that?"  
    "It could only have been a distraction, Dad," pointed out Jenrya, as he removed his D-Scanner from the computer. "They must have targeted somewhere else while we were dealing with those viruses."  
    "You may be right, son," sighed Dr. Lee after thinking through the possibility. "I wonder where, though?"  
    An alarm suddenly blared and the screen in front of them was awash with data. It was as if someone had a little too much alphabet soup and had become sick all over the computer screen. Something terrible was happening at the Official DigiSquare. Viruses were invading the DigiSquare and it wasn't pretty...

* * * * *

    Guilmon was breathing heavily. 'This test sure is tough,' he thought to himself, as another virus charged straight towards him. He leapt out of the way skilfully, avoiding the Gazi virus's onslaught. The Gazi virus looked like a metallic bunny. It was an electrical and mechanical type.  
    The metallic ears of the Gazi virus started to charge up, crackling with electricity. It fired a potent bolt of lightning at Guilmon, hitting the Child level Digimon and paralysing him.  
    Renamon rushed past Guilmon and leapt through the air, kicking the Gazi virus and sending it crashing backwards. She crossed her arms and readied herself, as Knight Virus rushed towards her. It looked like a miniature, legless version of Knightmon and it floated towards her with a sword in its hand. A smile spread across her muzzle, as she unfurled her arms, launching a shower of glowing crystal shards through the air and at the Knight virus, destroying it in mere seconds.  
    "Thanks, Rena," sighed Guilmon, as he found himself able to move. His pupils widened in disbelief. "Watch out!" he cried and he lunged for the Digimon, pushing her straight out of the way. His action helped save Renamon from being hit by a sneaky DropDown virus. Guilmon watched as the wooden spike disappeared. "That's it! Pyro Sphere!" He spat out a globule of fire that hit the wood-type DropDown, destroying it in an instant.  
    "Guil, I'm sending you some DigiModify data," stated Takato's voice.  
    The data was perfect. White, glowing wings grew from his back, enabling the Digimon to fly. He took to the sky, so to speak.  
"Huh? What's that?" wondered Guilmon out loud, upon seeing something sneaking past the line of viruses and deeper into the Officials's Headquarters. "Better follow him."  
    A Flappy virus, which looked like an fighter jet, flew through the air and smashed straight into Guilmon. The force of the impact sent Guilmon crashing back to the floor. The virus then dived down through the air, joined by two more Flappy viruses and a DropDown.  
    "Guilmon, I'm sending you a Hyper Speed advance," announced Takato.  
    "Thanks, Takato," thanked Guilmon, as he felt his data being modified. He used the extra burst of speed to launch several Pyro Spheres up at the viruses. The DropDown was destroyed in an instant and the Flappy viruses caught fire instantly. Leaping to his feet, Guilmon waited for them to dive down. "Eat this!" he roared, as he lunged at them, lashing out at them with his claws and tearing them apart.  
    Seeing his chance, Guilmon ran straight towards the viruses, smashing his way past them.  


    "Who are you?" asked Cyberdramon, as he stood beside the examiner Digimon. He was an aggressive Digimon and it showed on his face, however, it did not faze the unknown Digimon.  
    If the Digimon smiled, it would have. However, the Digimon had no mouth. It only had eyes and a handle on the front of its body. It was stocky, bulky and metallic.  
"My name is Gardromon," replied the mechanical Digimon in a refined voice. "I am Second-in-Command to the Commander-in-Chief of Hypnos's Space Forces."  
    The toothy growl on Cyberdramon's face only widened.  
"I wouldn't go boasting about that if I were you," he warned the Gardromon, as he advanecd towards the Adolescent level, mechanical type Digimon. He roared loudly, rushing straight towards Gardromon.  
    "All troops move forward!" ordered Gardromon and in response to his command, a whole host of viruses suddenly flooded the area and rushed towards Cyberdramon and the examiner Digimon. "Take no prisoners!" he commanded, but that was a given. The viruses would destroy any Digimon regardless of whether they were told to or not. "Lieutenant Hirokazu, sir, all resistance has been taken care of," he reported to his Operator.  
    A square suddenly appeared in front of the Gardromon in the same way an image appears on a TV once its switched on. There was a face on the square. It was a human face and a youthful one. The Hypnos Lieutenant had messy brown hair that stuck up and he had blue eyes. His face was tanned slightly and there was an almost inane grin on his face.  
"Good work, Gardromon," he praised his Digimon. "Now see if you can break into their vault and steal their experimental forcefield program."  
    "Yes, sir," acknowledged the Digimon, saluting his Operator, before the square disappeared. "This should be easy," he commented, as he fired his boosters and flew over Cyberdramon and the battling viruses.  
    "Hold it right there, Hypnos scum!" shouted a voice behind the android.  
    Gardromon turned round and saw a red lizard Digimon.  
"Who do you think you are?" he asked.  
    "The name's Guilmon," replied the virus-class Digimon, "and I'm here to stop you."  
    "Have you no shame?" Takato asked the Operator of Gardromon, knowing that the Gardromon could hear him. "Why are you harming innocent Digimon?"  
    Hirokazu laughed at Takato's comment. Only his voice was audible. His face was nowhere to be seen, just like Takato's.  
"That's none of your business, chump," he retorted. "You think you can take me on? Well come on, chump-boy and let's get it on! Gardromon, time to fight!"  
    The Gardromon nodded.  
"Yes, sir!" he replied, before he raised his arms. "Guardian Barrage!" He fired two rockets through the air and straight at Guilmon. He saw the Child-level Digimon leap out of the way. "This is going to be way too easy," he chuckled, as he fired his jet boosters and flew out of the way of Guilmon's Pyro Sphere.

* * * * *

    Takato mused over the entire situation. It looked as if Guilmon's fire attacks weren't working well against Gardromon. 'Let's see, what type of Digimon is he?' he wondered. It then hit him. Gardromon was an electro-mechanical-type Digimon, which meant that Gardromon was both an electrical and mechanical type Digimon. That meant only one thing. Quickly, Takato checked the Advances he had stored in his D-Scanner.  
"Darn!" cursed Takato angrily. He went over and pulled a drawer out, checking the chips within for any good Advances. "Ah, there we go!" he exclaimed.

* * * * *

    A metallic fist hit Guilmon and sent the Child-level Digimon flying backwards. This was bad. This was very bad indeed. His attacks weren't doing much good against his opponent. If this carried on, Guilmon would be deleted in a matter of seconds. Guilmon leapt to his feet and rushed Gardromon, slashing at the metallic Digimon with his claws. He was doing very little damage to his opponent, however.  
    "Hold on, Guilmon, I'm sending you a couple of Advances!" called out Takato.  
    "That won't do you any good, chump," taunted Hirokazu. "I've got a couple of Advances up my sleeve too! Show him, Gardromon! DigiModify- Seadramon's Ice Blast, activate!"  
    "Ice Blast!" roared Gardromon, before firing a powerful column of ice and cold wind towards Guilmon.  
    Water and cold attacks were very effective against fire types and Guilmon was one of those fire types. The attack practically did double damage to Guilmon.  
    "All right, the Advances had been loaded!" exclaimed Takato joyously. "DigiModify- Hyper Heal, activate! DigiModify- Shellmon's Hydro Blaster, activate!"  
    Guilmon felt all his wounds disappear. That's because they practically did disappear. A smile spread across Guilmon's scaly snout, as he inhaled sharply. He opened his mouth and a huge blast of water came gushing out, smashing against Gardromon. The force of his attack was enough to push the mechanical Digimon backwards.  
"How's that?" asked Guilmon, when his attack subsided.  
    "Let me check his health, Guilmon," stated Takato. There was a silent pause. "He's down for the count! Go for it!"  
    With a pathetic little roar, which was all a Child-level could do, he rushed straight towards Gardromon. He leapt at the mechanical Digimon, only to be swept away by a metallic arm. Guilmon landed on his back with a heavy thud. He watched as Gardromon rushed straight at him.  
    "DigiModify- Geyser, activate!" announced Takato.  
    A Geyser Advance? Guilmon hadn't used one of those Advances for a long time. However, wasn't it necessary for a hole to be made in the floor before he could use it? The virus-class Digimon rolled out of the way, letting Gardromon's metallic fist smash into the floor. Bingo! Guilmon smiled, as Gardromon whirled round. The lizard Digimon threw a sphere through the air and it landed into the hole.  
    There was a huge gush of water from the hole, which sprayed on to Gardromon. The last remnants of health disappeared from the Digimon and it broke apart into tiny bits of digital data that scattered into the air, leaving a shiny datacap behind.  
    "No, this can't be happening!" cried Hirokazu in disbelief. "Gardromon can't have been defeated! It's not possible! It's just not possible!"  
    "Believe it, pal, coz it just happened," stated Takato.  
    Hirokazu laughed, despite the loss of his Digimon.  
"You fool," chuckled Hirokazu. "We already succeeded in stealing the program we wanted. Now that it's ours, we can leave this place. Well, see ya!"

* * * * *

    "Wait!" called out Takato, but he received no further reply from Hirokazu. The Hypnos agent was gone. Quietly, Takato cursed himself under his breath. "Wonder what it was they wanted?"  
    "Takato, I feel a bit funny," stated Guilmon, his voice coming from the loudspeakers.  
    A frown spread on Takato's face. He leaned forward, his eyes wide in disbelief. The digital data that made Guilmon was changing. He typed in a few commands and called up Guilmon's stats. Before his very eyes, they were changing. Guilmon's size was doubling in size from 30kb to 60kb. The attacks were changing too; from Pyro Sphere to Pyro Blaster.  
"Guilmon, you've levelled up!" exclaimed Takato in complete surprise. Guilmon had become an adolescent-level Digimon by the name of Growlmon.

**_To be continued..._**


	4. Session 3: Sweet

**Digimon.EXE**

**By Wolf O'Donnell**

WARNING! May contain Alternative Universe situations and out-of-character experiences. Upon reading this, you hereby agree that you forfeit all your rights to sue me and that I cannot be held liable for any psychological or physical damage caused by the fact that I use British English spelling and that this fanfic contains graphic acts of a heterosexual and homosexual nature (not applicable to FanFiction.net version), extreme violence and use of swear words. Digimon is copyrighted by Bandai and Toei Animation Ltd. Wolf O'Donnell is copyrighted by Nintendo Ltd, although that might have nothing to do with the fanfic. Constructive criticism is very welcome. This chapter is dedicated to you, Kinu_Uni! Hope you enjoy it!

* * * * *

Session 3: Sweet  
    "Well, don't we look precious?" chuckled Growlmon.  
    Takato sighed, prefering not to tell his Digimon to shut his big, fat mouth. He adjusted the white cravat he wore with gloved hands. The gloves he wore were just as white as his cravat and the frilly cuffs of his white shirt. The jacket he wore over his white shirt was reminiscent of those worn by noblemen during the Georgian period and was a pearl grey, with tails, gold thread and black cuffs that were as black as his trousers and shoes.  
"You think Ruki'll notice me tonight?" asked Takato, as he thought of the Ball he was to attend. All new Devas were to attend it, and seeing as he and Ruki had saved their Online Headquarters, it would have been an outrage if they hadn't been made honorary Devas.  
    "How couldn't she?" replied Growlmon in a rhetorical manner.  
    "Growlmon, I won't be the only one dressed like this," Takato told his Digimon, as he put the D-Scanner in the inner pockets of his jacket.  
    "Hey! It's stuffy in here!" complained Growlmon.  
    Takato sighed, rolling his eyes.  
"Growlmon, you're in your D-Scanner and you're a computer program!" he sighed. "How are you going to feel anymore stuffy in my pocket?"  
    "I just don't like being in the dark," whined Growlmon.  


    The Officials' Headquarters was like one gigantic office block. At the front entrance was a small roof of sorts with the DEVA Symbol, which was coincidentally identcal to the symbol of the Officials, on top of it.  
    Inside, however, the place had taken on a more sophisticated look. There were tables covered in cloth, with bouquets and silver platters lined up on it. Each platter had a selection of hor d'oeuvres on them, each surrounded by a wonderful decoration of herbs and salads.  
    Ruki, an auburn-haired girl, stood at one of the two tables on either side of the room, listening to the music that the band played. Typical. It was a waltz and those that weren't standing around, chatting, were dancing with their partners. It was a shame that Jenrya and Ryo were already grossly involved in each other's company, that she was left alone, to stare at the tiny little snacks on the silver platters.  
    What she wore was like a Victorian-period style dress with a velvet sash around her waist. She also wore long black gloves, and a few artificial feathers were tucked into her red hair. Her dress was decorated with silver lace around the front and a more modest white lace on the skirt. There was a small broken silver heart pattern on the front of her dress. It was like her logo. She had it on almost all of her clothing.  
    "Where is he?" wondered Ruki, as she sipped gently at the orange juice in her hands. "He's late." She had been waiting for Takato to arrive for ages. Everyone else was busy enjoying themselves, unlike her.  
    "I'm sure he'll be along shortly," stated Renamon reassuringly from Ruki's D-Scanner. However, even the Digimon knew that Takato would be hideously late, just like Guilmon was yesterday.  
    "There he is," sighed Ruki, as she saw him approach her.  
    "I'm sorry I'm late," apologised Takato, as he walked up to the auburn-haired girl. There was an apologetic look on his face, as he edged closer towards him. "How long have you been waiting?" he asked curiously.  
    Ruki wanted to check her D-Scanner for the time, but she knew that she didn't have to. She looked up at the clock on the wall.  
"Far too long," she replied, as she placed her drink down on the table, upon hearing the music come to an end. She crossed her arms and waited for Takato to do the gentlemanly thing. Normally, she would have just ignored anyone that was being gentlemanly to her, but she decided not to in that particular case. "Well?" she asked.  
    For a while, Takato didn't reply. He just stared at her dopily, without a clue as to what she wanted. The impatient look on Ruki's face, however, was worsening. Takato panicked. He knew that if he didn't do anything soon, children and even grandchildren would be out of the question.  
"May I have this next dance?" he asked her politely, albeit stutteringly, as he shakily extended a gloved hand out towards Ruki.  
    "I thought you'd never ask," said Ruki, with a smile developing on her face. She turned her head momentarily to see a brown-haired girl waltzing away not too far away from her and smiled. Now, she would show that upstart girl. What was her name again? Juri? Yes, that was it. Katou Juri. Well, she'd show her. She took his gloved hand in hers.  
    Takato led her out away from the table and towards the middle of the hall, where the couples were still gathered.  
    Ruki stopped in her tracks. Somehow, Takato had ended up trailing her and had stopped in his tracks behind her. She turned back to look at him with a frown on her face. There a similar awkward look on his face too, as he looked at her.  
"What's wrong?" she asked Takato.  
    "It's nothing," replied Takato, as he turned his face away from her, a blush rapidly creeping across his face.  
    A smile spread quickly across Ruki's face. Was that a blush? Could it be?  
"Well come on, then," she said, as she noticed the band's conductor raise his baton out of the corner of her eye. "Let's get a move on, before the thing starts."  
    "Okay," agreed Takato with a nod of his head. 'Real smooth, Takato,' he thought to himself sarcastically. 'Why couldn't you do this as rehearsed?' he mentally chided himself, as he thought back to all that mental rehearsing that he had done before he came to the Ball.  
    Softly, the music started. The two held their hands, moving into the proper stance and set off into the movements of a waltz as the music carried on. Neither one thought about their movements, as they moved skilfully, avoiding the other dances. Once Ruki passed Juri, whom was dancing with a green-haired lad with glasses. Ruki smiled smugly at Juri, which turned the girl's expression sour, before she turned her face away from Juri and concentrated on the dance with Takato.  
    "What was all that about?" asked Takato, who had noticed the small visual exchange between the two girls.  
    "Oh, nothing," replied Ruki innocently. One, two, three; Ruki didn't break step, as she talked with him about the incident. She merely laughed. "You read too much into things," she told him. That wasn't true, however. None of it was. One, two, three. First step, second step, third step.  
    "Takato? Read too much into things?" exclaimed Renamon from Ruki's D-Scanner, which was hidden underneath the sash she wore around her waist. "That's not likely."  
    "Yeah," agreed Growlmon from Takato's pocket.  
    "Would you two be quiet?" asked Takato. Though the verbal onslaught against him had surprised him, not once did it make him break step. He continued the dance as if nothing had happened.  
    That seemed strange to Ruki. Now that she thought about it, the entire dance seemed overtly strange. Why was Takato so graceful? That was very strange, indeed. She had never known him to be so graceful. He was clumsy, just like his Digimon, Guilmon. Though her skirt reached the ground, not once did it get in the way of Takato's feet. He skilfully avoided it, as he moved. One. Two Three. Takato led her in the dance confidently and apparently without thought.  
    For once, Takato seemed dominant and in charge of the situation. He didn't seem like the nervous, submissive, bumbling bundle of nerves that he used to be. Takato seemed like Takuya from the Digimon cartoon series- confident and a born-leader. Well, he was leading her quite well in the dance.  
    Together, they moved gracefully. That night, they seemed as one, as they waltzed. The music merely complemented them, as they danced as one being. All of their cares and woes seemed forgotten. The moment seemed as if it would last forever. For once, Ruki didn't mind being so close to Takato. He didn't make her feel anything except for contentment. She had never felt content with him. She had always vowed that if she was to find a boyfriend, her boyfriend would have to be nothing like Takato. Now, however, Ruki thought that Takato wasn't so bad. Ruki thought that perhaps it wouldn't have been such a bad idea to give Takato a chance.  
    "Those two look so cute together," stated Jenrya, as he watched Ruki and Takato dance. "They'd make a great couple."  
    "Personally, I think you'd make a cute couple with Takato," stated a blonde-girl that stood beside Jenrya. She wore a black dress, a completely black dress with a cross design on its front. Her name was Alice McCoy and she was from the Phyle section of the Orbital Space Ring.  
    Ryo quickly placed his arms around Jenrya possessively.  
"No, he does not!" he protested. "Jen's mine!"  
    "Easy there, Ryo," laughed Jenrya, as he slipped out of Ryo's grasp. "No one's going to leave you." He leaned closer to kiss Ryo on the nose, but then realised that it was impolite to do so.  
    Several years of human history and the concept of homosexuality still hadn't been accepted as normal. Kissing in public was still seen as rude, regardless of the couple's sexuality. Holding hands or hugging was the most overt thing that a couple could do, especially if the couple were of the same sex.  
    Jenrya stepped away from Ryo.  
"Would you like something to drink?" he asked Ryo.  
    "Sure would, hon'," replied Ryo, with a grin on his face.  
    It was a devious grin and Jenrya knew exactly what Ryo was suggesting.  
"Geez, Ryo, not here!" he exclaimed, giving Ryo a playful punch on the arm. "Sheesh! When aren't you horny?"  
    "I can't help it," proested Ryo. "How can I when I have the sexiest thing on two legs as a boyfriend?"  
    "On two legs? I didn't know you were into bestiality," joked Jenrya, as he walked over to get some drinks for him and his brown-haired love.  
    "Ha, ha, very funny," stated Ryo sarcastically.  
    It was evident from the music that it would end shortly. Everyone in the room heard it, even Ruki and Takato. The tempo slowed down and the music trailed off, ending neatly.  
    "You were pretty good," Ruki told Takato. She did not break away from him. She remained close to him.  
    "So were you," Takato informed Ruki, as the lights began to dim. For a moment, Takato was completely at a lost to what was going on. He then realised the reason. He could heard the band start up again. "Would you care for this next dance?" he asked her.  
    For a while, Ruki didn't reply. She could tell what kind of dance was coming up next. Would it be such a good idea to dance with him again?  
"Sure," replied Ruki with a nod of her head, albeit hesitantly.  
    Takato opened his arms and took Ruki in, holding her to him, as the next piece of music started fully. It, sounded slow, far too slow to be a waltz. Takato knew that they would be slow dancing. How perfect!  
    Within Takato's arms, Ruki felt comfortable. 'Why did I hestitate in the first place?' wondered Ruki. 'This isn't so bad. In fact, it's kind of nice.' She smiled. It seemed as if he was his boyfriend. Mentally, she pictured it. It didn't seem like such a bad idea. If Takato stayed the way he was currently acting, being his girlfriend would be bearable if not nice. 'Bearable? Who am I kidding?' she thought. Slowly, Ruki came to a decision. She rested her head against his shoulder and decided to take comfort in his presence, to find out what it was like to have a boyfriend that didn't get on her nerves like the last batch. 'What if this is a one off?' wondered Ruki. 'What if he'll be back to his clumsy self tomorrow?' She decided then and there, that if that was the case, she would have to make the most of the moment and enjoy what the comfort of having something vaguely like her ideal boyfriend.  
    One of the things that Takato had not expected, was for Ruki to rest her head on him like a girlfriend dancing with a boyfriend. Her current action seemed so unlike her. However, it was also unlike him to be so confident and he reminded himself of that, as he danced slowly with her. 'This isn't dancing,' thought Takato, as he moved to the music with Ruki close to him. 'It's more like two people moving slowly against each other. Not that I have a problem with that.' He chuckled mentally. Seconds later, he realised that was something was horribly wrong and that it would ruin the dance completely.  
    Ruki was surprised when Takato unwrapped his arms from her and disengaged from her.  
"What now?" she asked him angrily.  
    "Nothing. I just have to go to the little boy's room," replied Takato quickly, as he turned round abruptly and rushed away from her, fumbling in his pockets for a handkerchief and covering his nose quickly before any more drops of blood could fall. 'How embarrassing,' he thought to himself. 'Good going, Takato,' he chided himself mentally, again. 'Way to ruin a perfectly good evening.'  
    "Takato, what's wrong?" asked Growlmon from Takato's pocket.  
    "Nothing," replied Takato angrily.  
    Growlmon heard Takato's voice. It sounded as if the Operator had his nose covered.  
"You got a nosebleed, didn't you?" laughed Growlmon, but not loud enough for the people around them to hear. "Naughty! Naughty!"  
    "Quiet!" hissed Takato, as he darted out of the room, before anyone could find out what was going on.  


    The scientist stood in the darkened laboratory. He wore a white, clean laboratory coat, light blue cotton shirt, black tie, black trousers, and clean, polished black shoes. In front of him was a large machine, that looked like a Portugese Man-of-War or a mutant octopus with far too many tentacles for its own good. Large, black cables ran away from the machine, trailing across the floor and away from the gigantic machine. In front of him was the control panel for the machine, with a monitor attached to it.  
    He was leaning against the control panel, his blue-grey eyes trained on the monitor. He did not pay attention to the large monitors that took up the entire domed ceiling above him. They were merely maps of the Digital World and its subdivisions- PhyleNet, InphyNet, SpyrolNet, DyjiNet (the networks of Phyle, Inphynitio, Spyrol and Dyjitopia, the four sections of the Orbital Space Ring), NANet (North America), SANet (South America), AfriNet (Africa), EuroNet (Europe), ArabNet (Middle East), AsiaNet (Asia), Dark Ocean, DarkNet and HypnosNet.  
    Behind him was a woman, wearing what appeared to be a white jumpsuit. She had neat brown hair of shoulder length and blue eyes like sapphires. The woman was quite tall, her arms crossed behind her back, as she stood behind the scientist.  
"Sir, I'm sorry to bother you," she began, as she approached the scientist, "but..."  
    "Quiet!" snapped the scientist angrily. "How many times have I told you not to disturb me when I'm working?"  
    If the woman was afraid, she did not show it. The expression on her face did not change.  
"I'm sorry, sir," she apologised, bowing her head respectfully to the scientist, the Leader of the Hypnos Organisation. "However, you wanted me to inform you of the progress of Operation Shadow. Would you prefer it if I came back later?"  
    The Hypnos Leader stood up, a smile on his face.  
"No, don't do that," he told her. "Is everything in position?"  
    "Yes, sir," replied the woman.  
    The scientist chuckled and soon that chuckle became an insane bought of evil laughter.  
"Excellent!" he cried. "Tell them to strike as planned! That Electricity Program will be ours soon enough!"

**_To be continued..._**


	5. Session 4: Flying Teapot

Digimon.EXE 

By Wolf O'Donnell

WARNING! May contain Alternative Universe situations and out-of-character experiences. Upon reading this, you hereby agree that you forfeit all your rights to sue me and that I cannot be held liable for any psychological or physical damage caused by the fact that I use British English spelling and that this fanfic contains graphic acts of a heterosexual and homosexual nature (not applicable to FanFiction.net version), extreme violence and use of swear words. Digimon is copyrighted by Bandai and Toei Animation Ltd. Wolf O'Donnell is copyrighted by Nintendo Ltd, although that might have nothing to do with the fanfic. Constructive criticism is very welcome.

* * * * *

Session 4: Flying Teapot  
    "I knew it was too good to be true," sighed Ruki angrily, as she placed another Vol au Vent on to her plate. "Why did I ever think that Takato could ever be my boyfriend, the stupid klutz?" She felt stupid for trusting Takato. She felt stupid for thinking that he had changed and that she could finally accept him as a boyfriend, something that she knew he wanted for quite a long time. "Why do I bother?" she wondered out loud.  
    "Hey, Ruki," called out Alice, as she approached the auburn-haired girl, in an attempt to get Ruki's attention.  
    Ruki turned round.  
"Oh, it's you," she stated in a dismissive tone of voice.  
    "I saw what happened," Alice told Ruki in a concerned tone of voice. "I'm so sorry, Ruki."  
    An angry look spread across Ruki's face, as she turned away from Alice.  
"Yeah, well I'm not," she informed the blonde-haired girl. In her moment of rage, she momentarily forgot that Alice had also suffered a hurtful break up before when Jenrya left her for Ryo. "I'm glad that we didn't become an item. He would have gotten old real fast."  
    "Ladies and Gentlemen, may I now present to you the Leader of the Officials and the DEVA Organisation, Oikawa Yukio!"  
    A black-haired man with a pale, pale face walked up to the podium. He wore a red shirt and a black tie a purple suit with black trousers and a purple cummerbund.  
"Congratulations, new recruits," he said into the microphone. "Welcome to the exciting world of Digital Law Enforcement." He paused for effect. "I imagine that quite a few of you have always dreamed of being a Deva, ever since the DEVA Organisation was created. Well, let me tell you this- all Devas are Officials, yet not all Officials are Devas. What does that tell you? It should tell you that you are the elite of the elite, but that doesn't mean there is no room for improvement."  
    There was a suddenly flickering of lights. Before they knew what was happening, the lights suddenly switched off entirely.  
    "What's going on?" wondered one person next to Ruki.  
    The auburn-haired girl suddenly heard a scream. Then she herself realised why that girl had screamed. The gravity had been 'turned off'. She was floating.  
"Stupid dress," snarled Ruki, as she tried her pest to push it back down. Still, she should have realised that in the pitch darkness, no one would have been able to look up her dress... unless they had a flashlight...  
    "Attention, Ladies and Gentlemen!" shouted a voice that sounded as if it came out of a megaphone. "We have taken control of the Orbital Space Ring's power plants. All you need to do right now is to surrender your valuables..."  


    "I don't feel so good," whined Growlmon, as the D-Scanner in which he occupied floated out of Takato's pocket. "I think I'm going to be sick."  
    Takato sighed, as he reached out and grabbed his D-Scanner.  
"Don't be silly, Growlmon," he told his Digimon. He looked around him, or tried to, at least. There was no power within the bathroom and toilet paper, and water, was floating all over the place. Takato's eyes nearly bulged out of his eye sockets, as he saw something disgusting float past. 'Gyah! Who forgot to flush?' he wondered quietly, as he tried his best to back away from the brown mass. "This is getting unsanitary," he muttered, before he tried to swim towards the door. That proved absolutely futile, so he grabbed the sink and then kicked himself away from it, propelling himself across the men's room and towards the door.  
    He grabbed the handle and pulled, kicking off the wall to propel the door and himself backwards. Takato then slipped out, letting the door close behind him.  
"Do not go in there," he warned the man outside, before he floated down the corridor.  
    "Do you think this blackout will last?" asked Growlmon.  
    "I'm not sure, boy," replied Takato. He had never known there to be a blackout on the power station, not one that had resulted in lack of gravity, at least. "Something's not quite right here."  
    "Hey you! What do you think you're doing?" shouted a voice from back down the corridor.  
    Takato whirled round and double-taked. Behind him were several masked men, each carrying black rifles.  
"Oh, dear, this can't be good," he murmured, as he saw the masked men advance towards him. Terrorists? Were they from Hypnos? He wasn't sure.  
    "I thought I'd find you here."  
    The masked men turned round, only to be confronted by Dr. Lee, Jenrya's father. The greying man rushed towards them, doing a formidable spinning kick that looked even cooler than it should have done thanks to the lack of gravity. It didn't just look cool. The move actually served some purpose, knocking the guns out of the terrorist's hands. One rushed straight towards Dr. Lee, but the man floated back, avoiding the blow.  
"Takato, get out of here!" he called out to the brown-haired kid.  
    "But what about you?" asked Takato concernedly.  
    "Never mind about me," replied Dr. Lee, as he propelled himself away from one knife-wielding terrorist. "Find Jenrya! Tell him that Operation Shadow has started, as we feared!"  
    One of the terrorists suddenly whirled round. He kicked himself away from the floor and propelled himself through the zero-gravity corridor.  
"Come here, kid!" he said in a threatening manner.  
    Takato shook his head, and quickly ran for it, or as best as he could in the given circumstances. Swim for it, would have been a better description for what he did. However, what he needed was a boost. He turned round and saw the terrorist getting closer. That was it! Takato kicked out, and managed to- luckily- kick the terrorist in the head. This gave him the boost he needed, helping him to propel himself across the zero-gravity corridor.  
    Another terrorist reached out and grabbed one of the rifles that had been knocked out of their hands. He aimed it at Takato and opened fire, spraying bullets in the kid's direction. He missed. Takato had already turned the corner.  
"Darn!" he cursed angrily, before he propelled himself down the corridor.  
    "What are we going to do?" wondered Takato, as he floated down the corridor. "Got any ideas, Growlmon?"  
    "Nope," replied the Digimon.  
    "Gamma Team, this is Theta Team," crackled a voice. "Be on the lookout for a brown-haired kid wearing a tux."  
    "Roger," came the reply.  
    Takato's pupils were wide in fear. He knew that more of the terrorists were coming his way. Looking around him wildly, Takato tried to find a safe place to hide. Anywhere would have done. Anywhere would have been better than out in the corridor, where he could be found and possibly killed.  
    Four men, dressed exactly like the previous group of terrorists, floated around the corner.  
"Darn, I thought I heard voices here," said one of the men.  
    "You must be dreaming," said one of the other men. "Perhaps you should see a doctor. The Dragon Syndicate's doctors are much better than the Snake Syndicate's, you know?"  
    Takato watched from the ventilation shaft, the metallic grille keeping him hidden from view. So that was it! They were from one of the four major crime syndicates. He, like every other person in the Earth Sphere, knew the names of the syndicates- Dragon, Snake, Phoenix and Tiger.  
"Growlmon, do you know anything about the Dragon Syndicate?" he whispered to his Digimon. "And keep it down, or they'll hear us."  
    "I've got nothing that you don't know," was Growlmon's reply.  
    Peering through the grille, Takato checked whether the Syndicate scumbags had left. They were still patrolling the corridor. He guessed that the best option open to him, would be to crawl through the ventilation shaft and see if he could escape and find Jenrya.  


    The criminal was knocked unconscious.  
    "Hey, you're pretty good," complimented Jenrya with a smile on his face.  
    Ruki smiled.  
"Thanks," she thanked him. She looked down the corridor. It had been tough, but they had managed to sneak out of the large hall. Alice, Jenrya and Ryo had decided to find Takato, but Ruki had refused... at first. It had taken much convincing, but she had given in. "Come on!" she called out and floated ahead of the others.  
    The others followed her without argument. After all, they all wanted the same thing, to find Takato and help him out of whatever trouble he had managed to get himself in.  
    Ryo's D-Scanner suddenly vibrated. He had put the D-Scanner on silent, such that if he received any incoming calls, it would merely vibrate. He reached for it, flipped the lid open and placed the D-Scanner up to his ear like a phone.  
"Hello?" he whispered quietly. "Takato!" The others turned to face Ryo. "Where are you?" he asked Takato quietly. "Ventilation shaft?"  
    "That figures," sighed Ruki.  
    "The Dragon Syndicate?" exclaimed Ryo. He paused a while, listening to what Takato had to say. "Yeah, he's with me. You want me to what? Okay. Well, look, I'll hand you over to Jen." He removed the D-Scanner from his ear. "Jen, honey, it's for you," stated Ryo.  
    There was a frown on Jenrya's face, as he took Ryo's D-Scanner, placing it to his ear.  
"Hey, Takato?" he greeted. "Why didn't you phone me?" Takato answered. "Look, man, I told you to store my number..." He trailed off, when Takato talked about his father. "My Dad? Operation Storm?" A grimace spread across Jenrya's face, as he heard those words. "Yeah, I know exactly what to do. Takato, see if you can meet us at the basement, at the very bottom floor. Yeah. I'll see you there." He switched off the phone function and handed Ryo back his D-Scanner.  
    "What did Takato say?" asked Alice concernedly.  
    Jenrya turned round. He thought he had seen an elevator back down the corridor.  
"It doesn't matter," replied Jenrya. "Look, guys, I might need your help," he began, but quietly, so that he could hear the advances of any unwanted company. "The entire Orbital Space Ring's power's been shut down. If we don't hurry and fix the problem, we'll all run out of air."  
    "Why us?" asked Alice timidly. She couldn't understand why they, teenagers, had to do the job.  
    "We're Devas, aren't we?" was Ruki's answer to the question. "That's what we do, save the Earth Sphere and junk. Besides, this could earn us big promotions."  


    The Leader of Alpha Team, the Head of the Dragon Syndicate's current operations, grinned. He was a man with dark navy blue hair that hung down to his chin.  
"Things are going smoothly," he chuckled, as he brushed his bangs back. "It won't be long before we drain all the Officials of their funds."  
    "Things aren't going so well on our end, however," stated a red-haired man that stood at the large supercomputer. This supercomputer was the one that controlled the power plant complex that stretched out from underneath the Officials' Headquarters and half the way to Phyle. "Kabuterimon's got problems," he told the Alpha Team Leader. "We can't steal the Electricity Program. The lock on it is too strong." He turned round to face the Alpha Team Leader, and it was evident that there was a scar over his left eye. It stretched from his eyebrow, skipped the eye and then traversed down to the cheek. If he closed his eyes, the rest of the scar on his left eyelid would have been visible.  
    "Well, Mr. Izumi, I couldn't care less about the Electricity Program," he told the red-haired man. "What we're here for is the money and to shut the Officials down for good."  
    An angry snarl spread across Izumi Koushiro's face.  
"Look here, if the Officials lose the Electricity Program, then they'll be shut down for sure!" he argued. "If you just steal their money, they'll get more. If they lose the Electricity Program, however, the UN will get angry with them and have them all fired!"  
    "So what?" asked the Alpha Team Leader. "We're just in it for the money. If we fail to dismantle the Officials and DEVA, then there's always another day."  
    "Not for Hypnos, there isn't," replied Izumi, as he whipped out his gun, aiming it at the Alpha Team Leader. "Now, if you want to live, I suggest you help me out."  
    There was a worried look on the Alpha Team Leader's face, as he stood there in front of Izumi. He had no idea Izumi was from Hypnos. In fact, he had no idea that Hypnos was the one behind the entire plan. The gun was horribly close to his face.  
"What if I don't?" he asked, still feeling pride for his Syndicate. "What if I decide not to help you Hypnos scum?" he spat angrily.  
    "I'm the only one here that knows how to return the power," Izumi told the Alpha Team Leader, with a smile on his face. "I placed a lock on the computer. Only I can return the power. If the power isn't returned, we'll eventually all run out of air and suffocate." He smiled at the Alpha Team Leader. "Do you want that, Mr. Ichijouji? Do you?"  
    The Alpha Team Leader sighed.  
"How can I and Stingmon help?" he asked Izumi.  


    Takato felt dirty and groggy, as he crawled down the metallic ventilation shaft. The place was dark too.  
"This is not the way I planned to spend the night," he sighed. "Nope. Crawling down a dark tunnel isn't one of my most favourite activites."  
    "You never were good at gym," pointed out Growlmon.  
    "Thanks for pointing that out," said Takato sarcastically. He suddenly banged his elbow and cried out in pain. "Shoot, that smarts!" he cursed angrily.  
    Growlmon wanted to tell Takato off for swearing, but decided not to. It would have been a waste of digital breath, and besides, they wanted to keep as quiet as possible.  
"Shh," hissed Growlmon. "Do you want them to hear us?"  
    Takato grumbled under his breath, before continuing his journey through the ventilation shaft. If this continued, he would be black and blue all over. He had already banged himself several times within the shaft, several times on his head. It was getting to the point where Takato wondered whether he had received any brain damage.  
    "I'm telling you, I heard something," said a voice from outside the shaft. It sounded as if it came from below.  
    "Yeah, right."  
    "There's nothing wrong with my ears!" shouted the first voice.  
    "That's what they always say."  
    "Denial. How sad."  
    Biting his lip, Takato remained as still as a statue. He didn't want to give his position away to the criminals beneath him. 'Darn, how did I let this happen?' he wondered. He was the clumsiest out of all his friends. If anyone should have been in his position, it should have been someone like Jenrya or Ryo. 'I'm no good at this sort of stuff. Why did I ever think I could be a Deva in the first place?'  
    Quietly and slowly, Takato decided to edge forward. After all, he didn't know how long they would be in the room outside. He had to get to the bottom floor as quickly as possible and to do that, he had to somehow get out of the ventilation shaft and towards the nearest elevator shaft. Now that Takato thought about it- it was a bit of a tall order to ask from him. Takato wondered whether Jenrya knew that or not.  
    A ringing suddenly filled the silence and Takato froze in his tracks.  
    "D-Scanner's ringing."  
    "Well, it's not mine."  
    "Nor mine."  
    "Now who's hearing things?"  
    "Hey, it's coming from the vents!"  
    Takato felt every muscle tense up. He knew that he was in for it. He was, as the saying goes, dead meat. That was when the grille was opened and Takato came face to face to an ugly Syndicate thug.  
    The thug smiled.  
"Any last words, kid?" he asked Takato.

**_To be continued..._**


	6. Session 5: Hontou no Tsuyosa

Digimon.EXE 

By Wolf O'Donnell

WARNING! May contain Alternative Universe situations and out-of-character experiences. Upon reading this, you hereby agree that you forfeit all your rights to sue me and that I cannot be held liable for any psychological or physical damage caused by the fact that I use British English spelling and that this fanfic contains graphic acts of a heterosexual and homosexual nature (not applicable to FanFiction.net version), extreme violence and use of swear words. Digimon is copyrighted by Bandai and Toei Animation Ltd. Wolf O'Donnell is copyrighted by Nintendo Ltd, although that might have nothing to do with the fanfic. Constructive criticism is very welcome.

* * * * *

Session 5: Hontou no Tsuyosa  
    Kabuterimon stood on a large platform that looked like it was made out of neon lights. Surrounding him, the ether was completely black. Every now and then, the old lightning bolt would flash across the black ether.  
"I'm still having troubles, Koushiro," he informed Izumi.  
    "Keep at it, Kabuterimon. We must not fail."

* * * * *

    The elevator door opened and the Dragon Syndicate thugs aimed their rifles at it, ready to open fire. The elevator was completely empty. This puzzled the thugs. There had to be someone in the elevator. One of the gangsters advanced towards the elevator cautiously.  
    A canister suddenly fell amongst them and it sprayed out smoke, smothering each of them. One by one, the thugs fell foul to the knock-out gas and crashed to the metallic floor unconscious. Some tried to stagger away, but it was futile. The gas was everywhere around them. They couldn't escape it in time and lost consciousness, falling into a pile of sleeping bodies. When the gas cleared, that was where they remained, unconscious until the effects of the gas wore off.  
    "What did I tell you?" asked Jenrya smugly, as he picked his way amongst the unconscious Dragon Syndicate thugs. "Dropped them like flies, didn't it?"  
    "Yeah, whatever," grumbled Ruki. "Say, how come this place still has its lights on?"  
    "This level has its own back-up generator," replied Jenrya, as he pulled himself along the corridor. "It's to ensure the security systems stay online." A laser suddenly flew past him and Jenrya pulled back. "Whoa! Looks like it's definitely still on," he stated, as a wall of lasers suddenly barred his way forward.  
    "Hang on," said Ruki, as she kicked off the floor and floated towards the laser wall. She grabbed a little panel to stop herself from floating into the lasers. "I think I can jack in here," she stated, as she reached for her D-Scanner. "Renamon, it's time for you to do your stuff," Ruki told her Digimon, before she connected her phone-like D-Scanner to the panel.

* * * * *

    Renamon suddenly found herself standing on a path that floated in the middle of a black ether. The path looked as if it was made out of neon lights. She noticed that the paths were all very short and all had dead ends.  
"This can't be right," she muttered under her breath. "How am I supposed to get through, if all the paths are broken?" A bolt of lightning flashed through the black ether momentarily. "A program!" she exclaimed, upon seeing a white glowing creature in front of her.  
    The Digimon ran along the path and straight towards the white creature with frilly ears and large eyes. It had a red triangle on its forehead, with three black triangles around it, forming some sort of star. The edges of its feet and its ears were purple and it floated instead of walking about on its stubby, little legs.  
"Excuse me," she called out to the program. "Excuse me, but can you tell me what's going on with the paths around here? They all seem to be broken."  
    The program, which looked a lot like Calumon from Digimon Tamers, laughed at Renamon's question.  
"The paths aren't broken," replied the program. "Some of them are invisible," it told Renamon. "It's a security mechanism to stop foreign programs from getting around."  
    "If that's so, why did you tell me about it?" asked Renamon curiously, as another bolt of lightning flashed through the ether.  
    The program shrugged its digital shoulders.  
"I've been programmed to recognise all Deva Digimon," the program replied. "You're one, aren't you?" it asked Renamon and it received a silent nod in reply. "Well, that's good. There's been some Syndicate Digimon running around here lately, making my job a nightmare. I hope you'll go and kick their digital butts!"  
    "That's what I intend to do," Renamon told the Digimon. "Well, I'll see you!" She waved goodbye to the program, before running down the path and towards its end. She tried to go forward, but found that there was a dead end in front of her. Due to certain limitations, Digimon weren't allowed to stray off the paths and platforms of the Digital World, because it was physically impossible. The paths were the digital representation of the wires that made up the computer networks of the Real Worlds. The platforms, known as terminals, were the digital representations of the computers and machines in the Real World that were connected to the Net.  
    The foxy Digimon backed off slowly, placing her hands against the invisible walls of the path to find an opening. Suddenly, she fell forward. Gracefully, she reached out with her hands and did a forward flip, landing back on her feet in the middle of what appeared to be nothing.  
"Well, well, that program was right," murmured Renamon.  
    "How's it going in there, Renamon?" asked Ruki's voice.  
    "There's quite a strange defence mechanism here, but I've managed to get the hang of it," replied Renamon. "One of the programs I met said there were a lot of Syndicate Digimon running around in here."  
    "Well, I'll make sure you've got the correct DigiModify Advances."  
    "Thanks, Ruki," thanked Renamon, before she continued down the invisible path. She ran gracfully along the invisible path, before she hit another invisible wall and fell flat on her bottom. "That was unexpected," she commented, as she rubbed her nose.  
    "Renamon, behind you!"  
    The furry Digimon leapt up into the air and straight towards the invisible wall. She kicked off it, flying backwards and over the computer virus, landing on its other side. Whirling round quickly, she then fired her Diamond Storm attack against the virus before it could even get a chance to turn round. It was toast in seconds.  
"Seems as if the Syndicate's been flooding this place with viruses," stated Renamon, as she bent down and picked up the datacap that the virus left behind. "Hm, an Electro Shocker Advance. How useful."  
    Suddenly, Renamon felt rather dizzy. She clutched a paw to her head, not knowing what was going on. Her entire digital structure underwent a change from biped to quadruped. The number of tails she had increased, as she grew in size.  
    "Renamon! You've digivolved!" exclaimed Ruki in surprise. "From Renamon to Kyubimon."  
    "I have?" exclaimed Kyubimon in surprise. She looked at her new form. "Well, this is interesting," she stated. "Adolescent form at last. Ruki, you may still call me, Rena, if you wish."  
    For a while, Ruki didn't reply.  
"Well, I don't intend to call you anything else," she said. "Say, now that you're four-legged, shouldn't you be faster?"  
    "I think I might just be," came Rena's reply. "Let's have a try, shall we?" The Kyubimon leapt into action and carried on down the invisible path towards a visible section. "You're right, Ruki!" she called out to her Operator, as she sprinted down the path.

* * * * *

    "Here he is, sir," stated one of the thugs, as he shoved Takato forward.  
    This action forced Takato down on to his knees, his hands bound behind him. The brown-haired youth felt humiliated at being forced to kneel down in front of Syndicate scum.  
    The purple-haired man, Mr. Ichijouji, smiled upon seeing the brown-haired Operator in front of him.  
"So, this is the Operator that helped defend the Devas' Official Online Headquarters," he stated with a chuckle. "Doesn't look like much of an Operator to me!"  
    "Shows you how much you know!" retorted Growlmon from Takato's D-Scanner.  
    Ichijouji laughed.  
"So we have a smart-mouthed Digimon too?" he laughed, as he moved towards Takato. He reached down and removed Takato's jacket, taking the D-Scanner out of Matsuda's pocket.  
    "Hey, give that back!" shouted Takato, only to be hit in the face by Ichijouji.  
    "You speak only when you're told to speak," growled Ichijouji, as he flipped open the lid of Takato's D-Scanner. He pressed a few buttons on the small device, searching through it for data on D-Scanner's Digimon. "Well, it looks like we have a virus-type Digimon here," he told the other criminals around him. "How amusing!" He knelt down and lifted Takato's head up with a finger. "So, boy, you think you could take us on, did you?" he asked rhetorically. "Well let me tell you this, you are nothing."  
    Takato turned his face abruptly away from Ichijouji, not wanting to look at the Dragon Syndicate scumbag. He didn't want to dignify this man with any answer. 'This looks like it's going to be the end of the line for me,' thought Takato miserably.  
    "Such a spirited young boy," chuckled Ichijouji, as he rose to his feet. "Anyone ever tell you that?" He tossed Takato's D-Scanner to the ground, for it to slide towards the brown-haired Operator's knees. "It would be such a shame to kill you," sneered Ichijouji. "Yes, it would be a shame, when we could use your skills in our criminal organisation. Well, what do you say? Do you want to die or do you want to join us?"  
    "No way!" roared Takato, as he lunged forward, his head lowered. He managed to headbutt Ichijouji in the rear end, sending the purple-haired man falling forwards.  
    Two of the Syndicate thugs rushed towards Takato, grabbed him by the shoulders and flung him backwards on to his back.  
"You measly little brat," swore one of the Syndicate criminals, "next time you do that, you'll wish you had never been born. Got that, kid?"  
    Takato had never heard someone use that tone of voice to him in his entire life. Frankly, he thought it was far too vulgar. He nodded silently in response to the ruffian, not wanting to be beaten up by the criminals.  
"Yeah," he replied, only to receive a cuff on the head.  
    "Who said you could speak?"  
    Ichijouji laughed as he got up to his feet.  
"So, kid, you want to play it rough, do you?" he chuckled, as he advanced towards Takato. "Well, we'll play rough if you want to."  
    "You think yourself so tough?" spat Takato angrily, after much thinking on his own behalf. "Well, I bet you couldn't withstand a Digimon battle!" he told Ichijouji. "I bet when it comes to DigiDuelling, you're no better than a three-year old."  
    One of the Syndicate gangsters raised his hand to cuff Takato on the head again, but Ichijouji physically stopped him.  
"Back off," he told the gangster, before he knelt down in front of Takato again. "Are you challenging me, squirt?" he asked Takato. "Do you want to take me on?"  
    "Yeah," was Takato's short and simple reply.  
    Ichijouji turned round and reached for Takato's D-Scanner, picking it up off the floor. He stood up and motioned silently for his lackies to uncuff Takato.  
"Well, let's see you put your money where your mouth is," he stated, a devious smile on his face.  


    "Hurry up!" shouted Jenrya, as he flew through the air, kicking the Syndicate thug in the stomach. He ducked, narrowly missing the sharp blade of one Syndicate criminal's knife. Jenrya whirled round, kicking the knife away and rushed the thug, punching him in the face.  
    "Rena's going as fast as she can!" shouted back Ruki, as she pressed a couple of buttons on her D-Scanner, sending some Advances to her Digimon. "Rena, how close are you?" she asked her Digimon.

* * * * *

    Rena became a whirling wheel of blue fire, crashing through the viruses. She didn't stop for them at all. She landed on the other side, completely unscathed. In front of her was what looked like a gear and a huge switch.  
"I'm nearly there!" she called out to Ruki, before Kyubimon sprinted towards the switch.  


    Growlmon looked ahead of him. He was standing on a narrow path of three by six squares. Half of them on Growlmon's side were red. The other half on which his Digimon opponent stood was blue. Several 0s and 1s floated around this path like ghostly projetions, but that was irrelevant. What was relevant was the Stingmon that stood in front of him on the Duelling Area.  
    Duelling Areas were extremely special. Neither Digimon is allowed to cross over from their area into their opponent's area. Thus, Growlmon wasn't allowed to step into any blue squares and vice versa (however that rule had a loop hole to it, which was easily exploitable by those Digimon that can teleport or fly). Hence, if Growlmon wanted to stand on the blue squares, he would have to convert them to red squares with the TileGrab or RowGrab advance, which were specialist DigiModifying Data used only for duels.  
    "So, you ready?" asked Stingmon. Duels could only start once each Digimon's Operator had finished sending them a couple of Advances.  
    Growlmon waited a while. There! Three Advances had arrived. He nodded in reply to his opponent's question.  
"I'm ready whenever you are," he told Stingmon.  
    That was when Stingmon launched his first wave of attacks.  
"DigiModify- RowGrab activate!" He used a RowGrab advance. A row of light smashed on to the Growlmon's row of red tiles closest to Stingmon's rows. They suddenly turned blue. "Spiking Slice!" cried out Stingmon, as he swung his arm in an arc in front of him, causing a wave of energy to fly through the air towards Growlmon.  
    Growlmon, who was the exact same size as Stingmon (all Adolescent Digimon are of approximately the same height as other Adolescent-level Digimon, all Adult Digimon are approximately the same height as other Adult-level Digimon and so on), rushed to his left to avoid being hit by the Spiking Slice.  
    "That's not right!" cried Takato. "Stingmon's a close combat Digimon! He can't do attacks like that!"  
    Ichijouji laughed.  
"Mine can," he chuckled. "Show him what you've got, Stingmon!"  
    "Right, boss," agreed Stingmon. He disappeared from his side and appeared right in front of Growlmon. "Spiking Strike!"  
    Growlmon was not prepared for the attack. The multiple punches from Stingmon's spiked arm was inflicting a lot of damage on the Adolescent-level Digimon. He lashed out blindly, but Stingmon had already retreated to his section of the Duelling Area, which had been expanded thanks to the RowGrab Advance.  
"This ain't good," he muttered under his breath, as he realised that he now only had six tiles to move on, instead of the usual nine. He knew that eventually, those missing three tiles would be returned to him, but until then, they would be Stingmon's.  
    Breathing deeply, Growlmon then exhaled, breathing out a jet of fire that flew across the Duelling Area.  
    Stingmon flew to the left side of his area. He then moved from tile to tile so quickly that it appeared he was teleporting from one region of his area to the other.  
    "Growlmon, use your Heat Wave advance!" suggested Takato.  
    The Adolescent Digimon checked the Advances that Takato had sent him. Yes, there was a Heat Wave advance there. However, he realised that that wasn't enough, especially if Stingmon ventured on to the red tiles. What he needed was... Ah! Growlmon saw the Advance he needed.  
"DigiModify- Gravity Ring activate!" he announced, and threw a ring through the air.  
    It landed right on top of Stingmon and surrounded him, binding him to one tile.  
    A smile spread across Growlmon's face.  
"DigiModify- Grass Stage activate!" he announced and suddenly all the tiles were covered in grass. Now that Stingmon was hovering over grass, any fire attack would cause double damage to the Digimon. He inhaled sharply and spat out a sphere of flames at Stingmon. "DigiModify- Heat Wave activate!" he announced quickly.  
    The flames hit Stingmon causing the grass tile he was over to burn, singeing him. That was when a wave of red hot lava crashed down on to the rows in front of Growlmon, setting the grass on fire. It travelled across the Duelling Area and smashed into Stingmon, causing even more fire damage.  
    "All right, Growlmon!" cheered Takato.  
    "Don't think we're through just yet!" warned Ichijouji. "Stingmon, use the rest of your Advances!"  
    Stingmon nodded in reply. He selected three advances, putting them in order. The Digimon was taking advantage of a phenomenon that occurs when one selects DigiModifying Advances of a similar type or programming. They somehow merge together to create a more powerful Advance.  
"DigiModify- Double Trouble activate!" he announced, before splitting into two Digimon. Both copies teleported from the blue area and appeared in front of Growlmon, kicking at the fire-type Digimon mercilessly.  
    Ichijouji laughed.  
"This is far too good!" he chuckled.  
    "Hold on, buddy," called out Takato. "I'm sending you an Advance right now!"  
    "It'll be too late," stated Ichijouji. "By the time your pitiful Advances get to your Digimon, he'll be toast!"  


**_To be continued..._**


	7. Session 6: Muteki na Bataashi

Digimon.EXE 

By Wolf O'Donnell

WARNING! May contain Alternative Universe situations and out-of-character experiences. Upon reading this, you hereby agree that you forfeit all your rights to sue me and that I cannot be held liable for any psychological or physical damage caused by the fact that I use British English spelling and that this fanfic contains graphic acts of a heterosexual and homosexual nature (not applicable to FanFiction.net version), extreme violence and use of swear words. Digimon is copyrighted by Bandai and Toei Animation Ltd. Wolf O'Donnell is copyrighted by Nintendo Ltd, although that might have nothing to do with the fanfic. Constructive criticism is very welcome.

* * * * *

Session 6: Muteki na Bataashi  
    One of the Stingmon copies merely disappeared and Stingmon returned to the blue area.  
"Ah, I forgot to use one Advance," he chuckled. "DigiModify- RowGrab activate!" His area increased by one row. "Now, shall I wait for my Operator's Advances to arrive or shall I finish you off right now?" he wondered.  
    Growlmon now only have one row to stand on. The rest of them had been taken by Stingmon. He dreaded the use of another RowGrab, which would end up turning the tiles on either side of him blue and hurt him at the same time. This wasn't how he wanted it to happen.  
"I won't lose to you," he told Stingmon.  
    "I beg to differ!" roared Stingmon, as he rushed to the edge of his blue area. He lashed out at Growlmon, only for the Digimon to step out of the way. He floated left, Growlmon stepped right. He floated right, Growlmon stepped left back to the middle. "Hold still and take your deletion like a real Digimon!"  
    "Come on, where are those Advances?" wondered Growlmon.  
    "Stop stalling," said Ichijouji. "Tell your Digimon to give up so I can win this battle already!"  
    "The battle's not over yet," retorted Takato. "Just you wait until Growlmon receives his Advances. He'll kick your Stingmon's butt!"  
    "Oh yeah? I'd like to see that!"  
    The Advances finally arrived.  
"You would, huh?" asked Growlmon with a smile on his scaly face. "DigiModify- Area Revolve activate!" he announced, activating the Advance.  
    If Stingmon's face had the capacity for showing emotion, it would have showed horror. The Area Revolve Advance reversed the layout of the Duelling Area. He pulled back, but it was too late. Spheres of energy rose up from each of the stolen tiles and the stolen tiles turned back to red. Each sphere of energy curved towards Stingmon and flew through the Digimon, flinging the normal-type insect Digimon back to his back row. The two front rows of Stingmon's blue area suddenly turned red, leaving him with only the back row.  
    "DigiModify, Giga Heal activate!" announced Growlmon. His entire body was bathed in a healing light and he felt most of his wounds disappear and his strength return. Growlmon ran forwards towards Stingmon's only row and slashed at his opponent with his sharp claws.

* * * * *

    Ichijouji cried out in anger.  
"I don't believe that this is happening!" he screamed.  
    A smile spread across Takato's face, as he held his D-Scanner, which was connected to Ichijouji's by a small cable.  
"You bad guys really do like to avoid believing in the truth," commented Takato slyly. He checked his D-Scanner. The battle was going smoothly. "So, you ready to give up yet?"  
    "Never!" replied Ichijouji. His honour was at stake. If he couldn't beat Takato in a Duel, then he would be the laughing stock of the entire Syndicate. Honour was very important amongst the Syndicates. If a Duel couldn't be won by fair means, then that Syndicate member would lose his honour. "You're going to lose, I'm going to make sure of that!" he growled angrily, as he pressed a few buttons on his D-Scanner.

* * * * *

    "Downloading 90% complete," announced Kabuterimon. He still stood on the rectangular terminal that represented the CPU of the computer that maintained the power generators of the Orbital Space Ring. "Downloading 95% complete," he told his Operator.  
    Rapidmon suddenly appeared right behind Kabuterimon.  
"Oh yeah?" he exclaimed. "Well, let me delete you 100%!"  
    The electricity-type insect Digimon turned round and saw the Adult-level Digimon behind him. The Adolescent-level Digimon smiled.  
"Say, aren't you Rapidmon of the Devas?" he asked the Digimon. "You are, aren't you? Huh. I've heard quite a lot of things about you."  
    "Really? What have you heard?" asked Rapidmon.  
    "I've heard that you're quite tough," replied the electric-type insect Digimon. "However, I doubt that you can beat me."  
    Rapidmon frowned underneath his green armour.  
"Is that true?" he asked Kabuterimon rhetorically. "Well, we'll see about that. How's about we have a DigiDuel to sort this out?"  
    For a while, Kabuterimon didn't respond. He was waiting for word from his Operator.  
"Go ahead," stated Izumi. "Wipe the digital floor with his butt."  
    A light shone down from above, bathing both Digimon. A Duelling Area of three by six tiles appeared around them. Rapidmon, the challenger, got the red tiles. Kabuterimon, the opponent, got the blue tiles. Neither Digimon was allowed or physically able to step out of the Duelling Area. The same rules to Growlmon's Duel with Stingmon applied to this DigiDuelling Match.  
    Rapidmon waited for Jenrya to send him a couple of Advances. They arrived soon enough.  
"You ready?" asked Rapidmon.  
    "I don't need any pitiful Advances," was Kabuterimon's reply.  
    "Well, it's your loss," commented Rapidmon before he fired several rockets straight towards his opponent. They smashed into Kabuterimon, wounding the Digimon.  
    "Electro Shocker!" Kabuterimon fired a powerful ball of electricity at his opponent, but Rapidmon merely flew around it.  
    Rapidmon fired a few more missiles towards his opponent. One of them missed, as Kabuterimon dodged them skilfully.  
"Here, take some more!" he cried, firing even more missiles at Kabuterimon. Each one curved through the air, smashing into Kabuterimon's area, some smashing into the electric-type insect Digimon. "And eat this!" he shouted, firing some more missiles at his opponent.  
    "What's this?" exclaimed Jenrya. "Kabuterimon keeps healing himself!"  
    "That's right, Deva," laughed Koushiro. "I've modified Kabuterimon so he's more like Elecmon. Whenever there's a supply of electricity around that isn't from his D-Scanner, he can use it to replenish his health. Now finish that Digimon off, Kabuterimon!"

* * * * *

    "No, I won't let you do that!" cried Jenrya, as he left his D-Scanner. He rushed over and reached out for a lever.  
    Izumi realised what Jenrya was up to and rushed over to stop him.  
"No, don't you dare!" he screamed at the blue-haired Deva, grabbing Jenrya's arm. "If you kill the power, our Digimon will be stuck in a void! That void will drain our D-Scanners of power, until there's none at all and our Digimon get deleted! That void'll put a time limit to our battle!"  
    "Hey, I can handle the heat," stated Jenrya. "Can you?" He struggled against Izumi, trying his best to pull the lever back and turn of all the power.  


    "Are you okay, Dr. Lee?" asked Alice, as she helped Ruki untie Jenrya's father.  
    Dr. Lee slipped his hands out of the rope and stood up, rubbing his sore wrists.  
"I'm fine, thank you," he replied. "Where's Jenrya?" he asked them curiously.  
    "He's at the main computer," replied Ryo, as he peered out of the doorway. "If we hurry, we can help him defeat the Dragon Syndicate."  
    "The Dragon Syndicate isn't behind this," Dr. Lee told Ryo. "It's Hypnos. They plan to hold this entire place to ransom." He walked over to the door of the closet and opened it a little bit more, peering out. He ducked back in. "Maybe Hypnos is running out of money," he suggested.  
    That was when the emergency lights cut out completely.  


    "Huh? What's going on?" exclaimed Ichijouji, as he looked around him. He saw that the lights had cut out. Had the back-up generator been switched off too? "What is that Hypnos fool doing?" he wondered out loud.  
    Takato's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets upon hearing Ichijouji's comment.  
"Hypnos?" he exclaimed in disbelief. "So, you're in cahoots with Hypnos? Well, I guess that means I'll have to delete your Digimon quickly and arrest you."  
    "Over my Digimon's deleted data!" retorted Ichijouji.  


    There was a smile on Jenrya's face. In their struggle, they had managed to break off the lever. The power was now off for good, until someone came to fix the lever, at least.  
"Now, let's say we Duel fairly, shall we?" he asked Izumi.  
    "We were Duelling fairly, kid," growled Izumi angrily, as he advanced towards Jenrya. "You think you've hindered my Digimon? Well, think again. Kabuterimon can still delete your Digimon and once he's down with your Digimon, it'll be my turn to get rid of you."  
    Jenrya's smile widened.  
"You can talk big, but can you duel?" he taunted Izumi.

* * * * *

    "Okay, Rapidmon, it's time to finish this!" called out Jenrya.  
    The Digimon nodded in acknowledgement.  
"Roger," he agreed. "DigiModify- MetalGarurumon's Metal Wolf Claw activate!" He lowered the cannons on the end of his hands and fired. MetalGarurumon's powerful attack came shooting out of his cannons instead of missiles and headed straight towards Kabuterimon.  
    The electric-type insect Digimon couldn't get out of the way quick enough. He was hit by the attack and suffered double the normal damage.  
"DigiModify- Electric Field activate!" he announced, as he raised his scrawny arms into the air.  
    In each of the corner tiles of Rapidmon's area appeared what could best be described as a miniature Tesla coil. Each one sparkled, shooting out electricity from one coil to the other. The electricity leapt from one to another randomly, but none travelling diagonally through the middle of Rapidmon's area.  
    Kabuterimon laughed. This was going to be interesting. He flew upwards and then launched several Electro Shocker attacks against his opponent.  
    Rapidmon leapt backwards from the middle panel, just as a bolt of electricity travelled from the back-left coil to the back-right coil. He leapt straight into the bolt of electricity electrocuting himself, which was what he would have done if he had stayed put.  
    "Careful, Rapidmon!" called out Jenrya. "I'm sending you some more Advances!"  
    "They won't be able to help your Digimon now," stated Izumi with a gleeful chuckle. "Kabuterimon, finish that Digimon off!"  
    Kabuterimon crossed all of his arms, charging up a powerful sphere of electricty in front of him. He flew back and let go, sending the Electro Shocker flying straight towards the paralysed Rapidmon.  
    "DigiModify- WarGreymon's Shield activate!"  
    A large shield suddenly appeared in front of Rapidmon, blocking the electrical attack. That was when Rapidmon regained the use of this limbs. He leapt away from the Tesla coils and fired his missiles randomly into the air. A few curved into his area and smashed into the Tesla coils, destroying them, and a few others curved straight into Kabuterimon's area.  
    Beating his insectoid wings, Kabuterimon took flight and flew over into Rapidmon's red area. The rules stated that he couldn't step into Rapidmon's area, but didn't say anything about flying into it.  
"Take this!" he roared, lowering his head and smashing his exoskeleton-protected head against the armoured Adult-level Digimon.  


    Close quarter combat was what was in order. Growlmon ducked under Stingmon's flurry of fists, as they battled at the front row of their areas. They were both so low on health that the slightest mistake would make one the loser and the other the victor. Growlmon swung his tail as soon as he ducked underneath Stingmon's attack. The normal-type insect Digimon leapt out of the way and flew back towards Growlmon, the spike on his arm extended.  
    "Come on, Stingmon, you can do better than that!" shouted Ichijouji.  
    "Growlmon, I know you can do it!" cheered Takato. "I have faith in you, pal!"  
    Takato's Digimon didn't need the encouragement. He was already stoked with the adrenaline rushing through his veins. There was no stopping him from coming out on top.  
"I won't let you down, Takato," he announced, before he slammed his claws into Stingmon and deleted his opponent.  
    Since they fought in a Duelling Area, Stingmon wasn't truly deleted. He was 'sent to the recycling bin', as most Operators put it. The possiblity of undeleting Stingmon was very real. All Ichijouji had to do was to go into the recycling bin in his D-Scanner and retrieve Stingmon.EXE.

* * * * *

    "Rapidmon, are you okay?" asked Jenrya.  
    "I'm fine," came the weak reply from the blue-haired Deva's D-Scanner. The lack of electricty was draining the D-Scanner, weakening Rapidmon and Jenrya knew it.  
    Jenrya looked up from his phone-like device and at the sneering smile on Izumi's face.  
"You're going to pay for that," he told Koushiro. "DigiModify- Exploder activate!" He watched the stats, as Rapidmon activated the Exploder advance, which caused damaging explosions all over enemy area. A smile spread across his face. "Looks like the duel's mine," stated Jenrya smugly.  
    "No, I couldn't have been defeated," whined Koushiro pitifully. "It's just not possible." A snarl spread across his face, as he detached his D-Scanner from the computer. "Well, the joke's on you," he chuckled. "Everything we've stolen has already been sent to Hypnos. It won't be long before the Super Digimon is created and then you can kiss your world goodbye! Hypnos will control the Earth Sphere!"  
    "Not if we can help it."  
    "Huh?" Koushiro turned round and saw a fist hurtle straight towards his face, before he blacked out and fell to the floor unconscious.  
    "Dad!" exclaimed Jenrya, as he unplugged his D-Scanner. "You're okay!"  
    A smile was on Dr. Lee's face, as Jenrya rushed up to his arms.  
"Yeah, I'm fine, Jenrya," he told his son, "thanks to your friends." He looked behind and smiled. Ruki, Alice, Ryo, they were the best of friends. "Say, where's Takato?"  


    "Hope your Duelling skills get better," taunted Growlmon from Takato's D-Scanner, as the Officials led Ichijouji and the other Syndicate criminals away.  
    Takato laughed.  
"Yeah," he agreed. "Way to go, Growlmon. You were brilliant!"  
    If Takato could have seen it, he would have seen Growlmon go red, or at least redder than usual.  
"It was nothing, Takato," he said modestly. "I have you to thank for those Advances you sent me. That was some brilliant strategy you laid out for me."  
    "It was nothing," said Takato modestly.  


    The Hypnos Leader growled angrily, as he looked at the statistics. Two of his agents had been defeated.  
"These Devas are getting to be quite annoying," stated the scientist angrily, brushing a hand through his pure white hair. "I've never met such insolent youngsters before." He reached out with a gloved hand and pressed a button, removing all the data from his screen and replacing it with new data. "Now let's see what we have here," he murmured. "Fire Program, Electricity Program, Force Field, Dark Program... one hundred data packets... Wood Program, Earth Program... We're still missing two programs; Mechanical and Water!"  
    "Don't you worry, sir," said a young feminine voice from behind the Hypnos Leader. "We will get those programs for you."  
    The scientist turned round to look at the two agents behind him.  
"Yes, but you two are both far too young," he told them. "This new Operation requires us to send Agents down to the Earth."  
    "That's the point, however, Dr. Yamaki, sir," pointed out the feminine voice. "No one would suspect us youths to be involved in such an intense and dangerous operation."  
    The old man started to smooth down his white moustache with a white, gloved hand, as he thought about the situation. A sly smile spread across his face.  
"You are very right, indeed," he agreed with a nod of his head. "Very well, I'll send the both of you down to Earth."  
    "Thank you, sir," thanked the other youth, a green-haired teenager with glasses.  
    "Lee, I will get my revenge on you yet," chuckled Yamaki evilly, as he rubbed his gloved hands. "I will delete all of your precious work! Delete it all!" He burst out into maniacal laughter, one that echoed all around him within the laboratory.

**_To be continued..._**


	8. Session 7: Ashita wa Motto

**Digimon.EXE**

**By Wolf O'Donnell**

WARNING! May contain Alternative Universe situations and out-of-character experiences. Upon reading this, you hereby agree that you forfeit all your rights to sue me and that I cannot be held liable for any psychological or physical damage caused by the fact that I use British English spelling and that this fanfic contains graphic acts of a heterosexual and homosexual nature (not applicable to FanFiction.net version), extreme violence and use of swear words. Digimon is copyrighted by Bandai and Toei Animation Ltd. Wolf O'Donnell is copyrighted by Nintendo Ltd, although that might have nothing to do with the fanfic. Constructive criticism is very welcome.  
P.S. I've altered the entire structure of the fanfic. Please note that from now on, Jenrya's surname is Lee and that the fanfic is now rated PG-13.

* * * * *

Session 7: Ashita wa Motto...  
    It had been two weeks since the Power Plant incident on the Orbital Ring. Everything had returned to normal and somehow, Takato had managed to make up with Ruki after the dancing incident. It was a gradual transition from being hated to being liked to being loved back to being liked again. Yes, he had gone back a step, especially now that he had been invited to the Earth and not Ruki.  
    Takato picked up the invitation card and checked it again. He sighed and sat down, placing the card to his chest. He was going to the Earth. How he'd always dreamed of visiting the Earth. He had always wanted to see what it was like to see real sunlight, to feel real rain, to feel real wind, to see mountains and oceans and hills and valleys. Now he would have that chance. Helping to save the Orbital Space Ring had made him renowned throughout the entire DEVA Organisation.  
    That helped to get him invited to Earth. The UN was inviting representatives from the major nations of the Earth Sphere- North America (also known as Namerica), South America (also known as Samerica), Europe, Asia, Africa, Arab League, Phyle, Inphynitio, Spyrol and Dyjitopia. Takato had become so famous amongst the DEVA Organisation that the Officials had selected him to be representative of Inphynitio, the section of the Orbital Space Ring that he came from.  
    It had been a hot contest between him and Ruki. They were both competing for the title of DEVA Representative for Inphynitio, but Ruki got herself involved in a project that required her to be permanently based at Spyrol for the entire duration of the project. That meant only Takato could go to Beijing, where the meeting was going to be held.  
    Takato knew the other Representatives from the Orbital Space Ring. Jenrya came from Dyjitopia, where the DEVA Organisation's Orbital Space Ring HQ (and hence the Officials' Orbital Space Ring HQ) was located. Alice came from Spyrol and Juri, whom he had met during the Power Plant Incident, came from Phyle.  
    His D-Scanner suddenly started ringing. Quickly, Takato reached out and picked it up.  
"Moshi, moshi, Takato speaking," he greeted the as of yet unknown caller.  
    "Hi, Takato, it's me, Ruki!" spoke the person on the other end.  
    A nervous feeling washed over Takato. He could still remember the tantrum Ruki threw when she discovered that due to her commitments, she couldn't go to represent Inphynitio in the UN meeting of Devas.  
"Oh, hi, Ruki," he stuttered nervously. "Erm... are you still made at me about...?" he began, but Ruki interrupted quickly.  
    "No, no," she said quickly. "Look, Takato, I won't be able to see you off tomorrow, when you leave. I've got lots of work to do. It's all urgent. I'm really sorry, Takato."  
    "Oh, I see," said Takato quietly, as he thought of what that meant. "Well, that doesn't matter." Silence. He tried to think up of something to say. "Ruki, I'll get you a souvenir from Earth," he told. "It'll be something especially nice."  
    "Aw, thank you, Takato," thanked Ruki. "Well, I've got to go. See you!"  
    "Yeah, bye," stated Takato, before he heard Ruki hang up.  
    "Something nice, huh?" asked Growlmon from Takato's D-Scanner.  
    Takato's eyes nearly widened to the size of dinner plates.  
"Growlmon, you were listening?" he shouted at his Digimon. "I don't believe you!" Ever since his Digimon had been hanging around with Rapidmon, he had been picking up some of Rapidmon's obnoxious behaviour. "How many times have I told you that eavesdropping is rude?" he asked his Digimon.  
    "Well, it's hard not to," protested Growlmon in his own defence. "Everything you say is through my D-Scanner."  
    "Hey, that's my D-Scanner," corrected Takato. "You just live in it."

* * * * *

    Rena looked all around her. She had digivolved recently to her Adult level, Taomon. She now looked like an anthorpomorphic fox with a flat face instead of a vulpine one, dressed as an Oriental shaman.  
"Ruki, are you sure this is the way?" asked Rena.  
    "I'm sure, Rena," came Ruki's reply. "The DarkSquare should be somewhere around here."  
    The Taomon heard a noise and spun round. She leapt back and just in time, before a grey slab came crashing down on to the black path. She had heard that the viruses that occupied the DarkNet were tougher than any other viruses in the normal areas of the Digital World. This slab0001 Virus was testament to that.  
"Ruki, I need some hard hitting Advances and fast!" she called out. She realised that any attack that wasn't rock-based would have very little effect against the slab0001 virus. "Talisman of Light!" She drew a symbol into the air (for lack of a better word, since the Digital World didn't have air), creating a glowing symbol.  
    The slab0001 virus turned upright again like a vampire rising out of its coffin in one of those clichéd B-movies. The virus had an evil, crooked smile on its face. It floated towards Taomon eeriely and slowly.  
    Rena could easily outrun the slab0001. It was the slab0003 that was more difficult to outrun. However, the Digimon preferred to stay and finishte virus off. It opened its mouth and moved forward to take a bite out of the normal-type fox Digimon.  
"Yeah, that's right. Open wide," she said, as she flung her arms forwards. "Thousand Spells!" She fired several paper spells through the air towards the virus. It hit the slab0001, causing damage to its soft inner mouth.  
    "Rena, here's an Advance you could use," announced Ruki. "DigiModify- Sharmamon's Sharma Hammer activate!"  
    A large chromedigizoid hammer appeared in the Taomon's hands. A smile spread across Rena's face.  
"Perfect," she commented, before she rushed forwards and swung it at the slab0001, crushing it.  


    The Digimon stood quietly within HypnosNet at the other end of the Dark Ocean. Both the Dark Ocean and HypnosNet had once been a part of the DarkNet, but with the expansion of Hypnos, both sections were taken over by the Terrorist Organisation.  
    "There's been a change in plans," announced Yamaki's voice. "You and your Operator are now in charge of getting the Mechanical Program. Will you do it?"  
    "Yes, sir," replied the mystery Operator. "Don't you worry. Everything will go according to plan."  
    "It had better," growled Yamaki warningly. "If anything goes wrong, then there'll be Hell to pay..."

* * * * *

    Jenrya didn't know how Ryo did it. The puppy dog eyes that Ryo somehow managed to make were unbearably cute. He just couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for Ryo, however, that was before he realised that he would miss Ryo just as much.  
"Aw, Ryo, don't make that face at me," he said. "You know I have to go."  
    "Yeah, I guess," sighed Ryo, as he kicked at a scuff mark on the airport's tiled floor. "I'll miss you a lot, though," he told Jenrya. He still had that innocent little boy look on his face, which always got to Jenrya.  
    "And I'll miss you," said Jenrya, as he walked up to hug Ryo lovingly. "I'll bring something back to make it all up to you," he told Ryo, before kissing his love on the forehead.  
    "Really?" sniffled Ryo.  
    Jenrya nodded in reply.  
"That's right," he told his brown-haired lover. "I promise, I'll bring back something really special. You'll love it!" He saw Ryo smile at him and he reciprocated that smile. "And don't you worry about me going off with another guy," he told Ryo. "You're the only one for me."  
    "Darn straight!" retorted Ryo.  
    Alice watched from a distance, her arms folded in front of her chest.  
"Will you hurry up?" she shouted out at Jenrya. "If you don't hurry, we'll all miss the shuttle!" She was just itching to get onboard and fly down to Earth and she was sure that Juri and Takato wanted to go down there as well. "Those two act as if they're joined together," she sighed with a shake of head.  
    "That's right," agreed Dobermon, her Digimon.  
    "All right, I'm ready," announced Jenrya, as he ran up to them. Their luggage had been already taken care of. Now all they had to do was board. "Shall we go?" he asked them.  
    "Yes!" came the chorused reply.  
    Jenrya was rather surprised by the angry reply from the others. Perhaps he had made the parting with Ryo a tiny bit too long. Well, he could fix that.  
"Well, what are we waiting for?" he asked them, before he ran ahead (mainly to avoid being beaten to a pulp because of his comment).  
    "What's going on up ahead?" asked Takato, as he looked ahead of him.  
    "Strip search," teased Juri.  
    "No, seriously!"  
    "That's a metal detector," announced Jenrya, as he walked up to the airport attendant at it. He delved into his pockets and brought out a D-Scanner, flipping its top open. "I'm a Deva," he announced, "and the three behind me are also Devas." The attendant nodded and reached out to flick a switch. Jenrya knew that now the metal detector was deactivated, however, they'd have to have their D-Scanners checked.  
    Normally, D-Scanners would be confiscated from their Operators to avoid any Operator from jacking into the shuttle's hardware and mucking around with the equipment. It was a sensible safety measure. One by one, the Devas passed through until they were all on the other side.  


    Ruki looked at the computer screen in front of her. It showed her the layout of the Digital World and her Digimon, Rena. Her Adult-level Digimon was still within the DarkNet.  
"Say, what's that?" asked Ruki.  
    "I'm not sure, Ruki," replied Rena. "It looks as if it's some kind of portal."  
    "I wonder where it leads?" wondered Ruki out loud, as she looked at it carefully. She could clearly see that a firewall was blocking the way towards the portal. "Perhaps it leads to a Syndicate computer," she suggested. Where it lead, she was sure that it would help her with her case. "Rena, see if you can pinpoint your position's corresponding equivalent in the Real World," she ordered.  


    "Ruki," mumbled Takato, as he sat in his chair, asleep and his mouth wide open. If his mouth wasn't so dry, drool would have been dribbling down the side of his face. "Oh, Ruki... mrph... I am your captain speak." He snorted. "Huh?" he mumbled, as he opened his eyes.  
    Growlmon giggled.  
"Sheesh, why don't you get a room, loverboy?" he chuckled. "Oh, Ruki! Ruki! Man, wait till I tell the guys about this!"  
    Takato blushed red.  
"Don't you dare," he warned Growlmon. "If you do, I swear, I won't plug you in at nights! The D-Scanner will run down and then you'll be sorry." Of course, that was gross negligence and a punishable offence. Besides, Growlmon would end up being deleted and he didn't want that.  
    "Say, what's that sound?" asked Growlmon from his D-Scanner, which was hooked around Takato's belt. "It sounds like some vicious animal."  
    "Oh, I don't feel so good," groaned Takato, as he clutched at his stomach.  
    "Takato, I told you not to eat so much," sighed Jenrya, as he got up from his seat and let Takato out. Since there were only four seats to a row, two on either side of the aisle, getting out of the outer seat was a breeze compared with airlines of the 20th Century.  
    "Thanks, pal," thanked Takato, before he ran down the aisle bent over.  
    Jenrya moved back and sat down in his seat. Thanks to the speed at which they were travelling and the way they were travelling, gravity kept everything firmly rooted to where it was supposed to be. That meant the inedible lunches would not float off into the air and the minute amounts of soda they served, stayed within the cups. He flipped his D-Scanner's lid back open and pressed a combination of keys, generating a holographic screen in front of him. It was a romance novel.  
    "Have I ever told you that this stuff is so sappy?" asked Rapidmon.  
    The blue-haired Operator sighed.  
"No one asked your opinion," he told Rapidmon, before the text changed. "Hey, I was reading that!" he shouted quietly at Rapidmon so as to not disturb the other passengers, whom had to make do with special D-Scanners called D-Arcs- which were provided by the airline. "Put that novel back on my hologram or else," he demanded. "I'll tell Cyberdramon about your secret."  
    "You wouldn't dare!" protested Rapidmon.  
    "Try me."  


    Takato sighed in relief, as he stepped out of the bathroom. It was good to be out of there.  
"That's much better!" he exclaimed, as the door shut behind him. "Growlmon, you should be thankful you couldn't smell that." The ventilator was broken, so he had to suffer his own smell. He walked back and was a little bit surprised to see who was sitting in his seat. "Juri? What are you doing here?"  
    "I was wondering whether you'd like a Duel?" asked Juri, as she patted the empty seat beside her. "Jenrya wanted to talk to Juri, so I let him take my seat," she explained to him.  
    "Well, I don't fight girls," protested Takato. That statement was true, but it was only half-true. The part which was missing, 'because I'll get my butt kicked', was the _pièce de résistance_ of his comment.  
    Juri smiled at him.  
"Oh, come on," she begged in a way that would attract the most sympathy. "Please? Come on, Takato. What are you afraid of?"  
    Being beaten by a girl, was the answer. However, somehow, Takato couldn't resist her. It was as if he was suddenly receiving the brainwaves of his alter-ego from a different dimension.  
"Oh, okay," he sighed, giving up to her. He sat down and began to attach his D-Scanner to hers.

* * * * *

    Growlmon sighed. It was another Duel on another Duelling Area. This one, however, would be very different from the other ones. He was to fight the legendary Leomon. This time, Growlmon found himself on the blue side of the Duelling Area. 'At last, something different,' he thought to himself, as he waited for the Advances to be sent to him.  
    "Are you ready?" asked Leomon sternly.  
    "I'm ready," replied Growlmon with a nod.  
    "Then let's fight!" roared Leomon, before he flung a punch out in front of him. It sent out a mass of energy shaped in a lion's head.  
    Growlmon stepped out of the side and spat out a fireball at his opponent. He missed. The normal-type Leomon had stepped out of the way. He fired again, but missed as Leomon stepped out of the way. It was getting annoying.  
    Leomon smiled, as he stepped on to the same column that his opponent was. He swung his sword out in an arc in front of him, sending a two-column wide wave of energy flying across the Duelling Area towards his opponent. Growlmon couldn't get out of the way in time. Leomon rushed to the very edge of his area and slashed his sword in front of him.  
    The virus-class Digimon staggered backwards in pain. That metallic blade had hurt! Growlmon had no idea that Leomon was so fast. It was incredible! Never had he experienced such speed and power in his life.  
"Got to think fast," he muttered to himself. "DigiModify- Gorillamon's Energy Cannon activate!" A cannon appeared on his right hand and he fired.  
    A circular wireframe appeared in front of Leomon and it turned into a round shield that blocked Growlmon's attack.  
"You've got to do better than that," he warned his opponent. "Fist of the Beast King!" he roared, punching out in front of him and sending fiery attacks across the Duelling Area.

* * * * *

    "Aw man!" whined Takato.  
    "Looks like I won," stated Juri, upon seeing that Growlmon had been deleted. "Yep, me and Leomon can take you all on."  
    Takato looked away sideways and grumbled something under his breath. He was never a sore loser, but at that point, he decided that it was okay being one if only for a few seconds. However, that thought didn't get very far when the shuttle started to shake violently.  
    "This is your Captain speaking," announced a voice over the speaker. "Could all Officials report..." The voice suddenly faded off into static.  
    Jenrya placed a hand on Takato's shoulder, making the brown-haired Deva whirl round.  
"Takato, Juri, you'd better come with us," he said, gesturing towards Alice and then towards the cockpit. "I don't know what's going on, but the captain sounded really freaked out."  
    "You're right," agreed Takato with a nod of his head. "Let's go!"  
    "Yeah!" agreed Juri.

**_To be continued..._**


	9. Session 8: Kaze ni Shizuku

**Digimon.EXE**

**By Wolf O'Donnell**

WARNING! May contain Alternative Universe situations and out-of-character experiences. Upon reading this, you hereby agree that you forfeit all your rights to sue me and that I cannot be held liable for any psychological or physical damage caused by the fact that I use British English spelling and that this fanfic contains graphic acts of a heterosexual and homosexual nature (not applicable to FanFiction.net version), extreme violence and use of swear words. Digimon is copyrighted by Bandai and Toei Animation Ltd. Wolf O'Donnell is copyrighted by Nintendo Ltd, although that might have nothing to do with the fanfic. Constructive criticism is very welcome. This chapter is dedicated to you, Kinu_Uni! Hope you enjoy it!  
P.S. I've altered the entire structure of the fanfic. Please note that from now on, Jenrya's surname is Lee and that the fanfic is now rated PG-13.

* * * * *

Session 8: Kaze ni Shizuku  
    Control lights were going off all over the panel in front of the captain. Never had he seen so many malfunctions in his entire life. It was frightening. At their current trajectory they would burn up on re-entering the atmosphere.  
    "T minus 500 seconds till re-entry," announced the navigator. That wasn't good news.  


    The flight attendant tried his best to open the door but found it impossible. The cockpit door was jammed shut. What was going on? Why was everything onboard malfunctioning? He had no idea. He stepped aside, his breath ragged from attempting to open it.  
"It's no use, the door's locked shut," sighed the flight attendant. He was mentally cursing the automatic lock on the cockpit's door. The staff onboard should have been able to enter the passcode and enter, but the thing was rejecting all their codes.  
    "What's the problem?" asked Jenrya, as he rushed up to the flight attendant.  
    "Shouldn't you be in your seat?" asked the flight attendant, but he said no more when Jenrya presented his D-Scanner to the the flight attendant. "Oh, you're a Deva? Thank goodness for that. The cockpit door is locked. We can't seem to get in." He noticed the three behind Jenrya. "Are you Devas too?" he asked them.  
    "Yeah, we are," replied Juri abruptly.  
    "Mack, have you got the door open yet?" asked a brown-haired flight attendant, as she ran up the aisle towards them. "The captain says he needs some Devas in the cockpit right now."  
    The male flight attendant shook his head.  
"Not yet, Suzie," he told her. He turned his head and watched as all four Devas jacked in to the door's lock. "Suzie, you go and calm the passengers," he told her. "I'll stay here with the Devas." He looked around him and was just glad that the area in front of the cockpit's door was devoid of passengers.  
    The brown-haired woman nodded in acknowledgement, before she turned down the aisle.  
    There was suddenly a clicking noise.  
"All right!" exclaimed Takato. "Good work, Growlmon!" He unplugged his D-Scanner, as did the others and they all pushed through the cockpit door, entering the cockpit.  
    "300 seconds left!" announced the navigator.  
    "You're not helping!" shouted the captain, as he attempted to right the shuttle's course. It was no use.  
    "Captain Reisz, sir, the Devas are here," announced the flight attendant.  
    The brown-haired captain turned round to see the four children in front of him. He frowned.  
"These are Devas?" he exclaimed in surprise. "Oh well, no time to be choosy."  
    "What's the problem?" asked Alice abruptly.  
    "Everything," came the reply from his female co-pilot. "Everything apart from the air supply seems to be malfunctioning," she told the Devas. "The automatic pilot has kicked in. It won't allow us to deviate course. At this current trajectory we'll burn up on re-entry," she told them.  
    "There's also a problem with the throttle program, the right wing and the landing gears," Captain Reisz told them. "We've got to fix them all otherwise we won't be able to land safely."  
    Takato felt his knees going weak. This was his first time on a shuttle and it didn't look like it would be an enjoyable one at all.  
"Okay, Growlmon, you know what to do, right?" he asked his Digimon rhetorically, as he walked over to one of four ports where he could jack-in. "Let's do this!"

* * * * *

    Growlmon looked around him. He was with Dobermon, Leomon and Rapidmon. All four of them were standing on a large circular platform that floated in the midst of a white void of nothingness in which ghostly images of diagramatic aeroplanes and fuel gauges floated around. This circular platform, on which was a picture of a diagramatic airplane, was joined to several terminals by several red and blue paths.  
    "Guys, you're currently in Sector 3," announced Jenrya's voice. "Rapidmon, you go deal with the right wing program in Sector 2. Dobermon, you deal with the throttle program in Sector 4. Leomon, you deal with the landing gear program in Sector 3. Growlmon, you deal with the piloting program in Sector 1. Everyone got that?"  
    "Yeah," came the chorused reply, before they all ran down their paths and went their separate ways.  
    Growlmon took a right turn and suddenly found himself being caught in a strange slipstream of current.  
"Hey, what's going on?" he cried, as he was pulled along the path relentlessly. The Digimon was dragged along in a straight line, such that he missed a turn.  
    "You all right?" asked Takato, after Growlmon had been flung to the end of the path.  
    "I'm fine," groaned Growlmon, as he clutched at his head. He slowly got back up to his feet.  
    A Program suddenly floated up to Growlmon. The thing giggled as it flew around him, before it stopped and floated in front of him.  
"Hey, you're a Deva Digimon, aren't you?" asked the Program innocently, its eyes wide in almost disbelief.  
    Growlmon had always found the programs to be adorably cute. He couldn't help it.  
"Yeah, I am," replied Growlmon.  
    "That's great," laughed the Program in relief. "You've got to help me! There's electrical surges all over the shuttle's computer. It's preventing us programs from getting to the control panels."  
    The red, virus-class fire-type Digimon suddenly realised that this Program was one of the many fail-safe programs that had been installed into the computer. Its job was to stop the piloting program and the throttle program and the other programs from malfunctioning.  
"What do I have to do?" he asked the Program.  
    "There's a couple of fail-safe control panels in each sector," explained the Program, "but it's too dangerous for me to break through."  
    "Don't you worry," said Growlmon confidently. "I'll find a way to it. Step aside and let a professional do his work."  
    Takato sighed.  
"You're getting way too big-headed for your own good," he told his Digimon.  
    The Digimon didn't listen to his Operator, however, as he ran down the red path. He skidded to a halt. In front of him was another current surge. He could see it clearly. It was heading in the opposite direction towards him. With a roar, Growlmon charged straight towards it but was forced back. He looked around him.  
"Takato, can you see a way around this?" asked Growlmon, hoping that Takato was keeping an eye on him through the holographic screen.  
    "No, not really," sighed Takato. "Wait!" he exclaimed suddenly and with great excitement. "Go back a bit and then turn... right," he told Growlmon. "Turn right again and then carry on. You'll bypass the surge."  
    "Not if I can help it!" giggled a Program as it flew straight towards Growlmon. "Elec Ring!" It threw a ring of electricty straight at Growlmon.  
    The fire-type Digimon ducked straight underneath it.  
"Hey, what's the big idea?" he shouted at the Program. "I came here to help you guys!" It was then that he noticed that the Program wasn't white like the other one. It was completely black and had an evil look on its yellow eyes. "What's wrong with you?" asked Growlmon.  
    "Must delete," droned the Program. "Long live Hypnos. Elec Ring!"  
    "That's a Hypnos Program, Growlmon!" warned Takato.  
    "Then let's delete!" roared Growlmon as he thrust his claws out and crushed the evil program.  


    Rapidmon was caught up in a surge and dragged along the path away from his intended target. He was thrown off the other side.  
"This isn't good," he muttered under his breath. He leapt off the path and flung himself at the surge, trying to fly his way back, but to no avail. "Jenrya, there's something really wrong about this place," he called out to his operator. "Someone's mucked around with the surge protectors."  
    "I know," stated Jenrya. "Can you put them back online?"  
    "I'll give it my best shot," he told Jenrya.  
    "Watch your back!"  
    Rapidmon whirled round and saw a ferocious dog-like creature leap at him. He flew out of the way, narrowly avoiding the vicious virus. The vaccine-class Digimon whirled round. The virus was instantly recognisable. Rapidmon knew it to be a HellHound virus, a fire-type.  
"Jenrya, I'll need some," he began, only to be cut off when the HellHound opened its mouth.  
    A jet of flames flew straight at Rapidmon. The bunny-like Digimon flew out of the way and returned fire with his Tri-Beam attack.  
    The HellHound was just too quick. The beam smashed into the path harmlessly. It growled, before it leapt up at Rapidmon, opening its mouth.  
    "That's right, say 'ah'!" exclaimed Rapidmon as he aimed his cannon at the virus. He fired a missile straight into the virus and seconds later, it exploded.  


    Growlmon picked up the datacap from the defeated virus and downloaded its data. The Digimon licked his lips in anticipation, as he saw what Advance he had managed to get. It was a Holyshld.EXE Advance. Perfect! If he used that Advance, the next attack that hit him would end up doing negative damage and heal him.  
"This is a cool DigiModify Advance," he stated. "I wonder how it managed to get into that virus?"  
    "Never mind about that!" shouted Takato. "If you don't hurry up, there won't be anything left."  
    "You're right," agreed Growlmon with a nod of his head. "I'd better get going." He ran ahead of him and skidded to a halt. A step further and he would have hit a surge that would have dragged him away. Growlmon turned left onto a new path and followed it to the end.  
    Somewhere in front was a platform that looked like it was made out of tires. Sitting on it was the surge control panel that Growlmon wanted. From behind it, floated out several black Programs that had been left there by the Hypnos Digimon. They hurtled towards him.  
    With a roar, Growlmon charged forwards. He slashed at all the Programs with his claws, reducing them to dust. Their digital data flew through the air and Growlmon absorbed it. Growlmon collapsed to the floor, clutching at himself with his scaly paws.  
"Urgh, I feel strange," he told Takato, as his very digital data began to reconfigure.  
    "Growlmon, you're digivolving!" exclaimed Takato in disbelief. "Wow! WarGrowlmon?"  
    The new Digimon, WarGrowlmon stood up on to his feet. He looked like a Growlmon wearing armour which had two axe blades on the arms. He felt a new power surging through him. It was unbelievable. With a roar, he fired his jet boosters and flew through the air towards the surge control panel. Nothing would stop him. He landed right next to it and pressed a button. There was a buzzing noise and that was it.  
    A frown appeared on WarGrowlmon's face.  
"Is that it?" he wondered out loud.  
    "I guess so," sighed Takato. "Why don't you go and see if you can reach the autopilot program?"  
    WarGrowlmon nodded his head.  
"Roger," he replied, before running down the path, chopping at any viruses that got in his way. He was unstoppable. Nothing would get in his way of saving his Operator and all the people on board.  


    Rena looked at the creature in front of her. It was a Digimon that she had never seen before. There was something about this Digimon that sent shivers down her spine. She could see the cruel smile on his pale face. He could see his three, red eyes glisten with malevolence.  
"You're Beelzemon, aren't you?" asked Rena calmly, as she kept her distance. "You're the Legendary Lone Digimon."  
    The dark-class normal-type Demon Lord Digimon grinned, flexing his sharp claws. He was a powerful looking Digimon with a tail and a tattered, brown cloak around him that covered most of him except for his black, leather boots and gloves with metallic finger tips.  
"So, you've heard of me," he chuckled in a voice that made him sound as if he came from the bad streets of New York. "I'm somewhat flattered."  
    "I want something from you," the Taomon told him. "Information."  
    "Why should I give you anything?" asked Beelzemon, as he floated there in front of her. He sneered at her. "You pathetic little thing. I could crush you with my little finger!"  
    Rena stepped back a bit.  
"I want to know what the Syndicates are up to," she told him. "I want to know why they are moving so many of their operations to the Earth."  
    "Why? So you can protect the pathetic little humans?" laughed Beelzemon, as he floated towards her. Such a Digimon didn't need to walk around like a common Digimon. He merely had to float. "Listen to me when I say this, sweetheart," he said, as he closed in on her. "The humans are finished. The Officials and the Devas will vanish in an instant. You know why? I'll tell you why. I overheard Hypnos talking. They're trying to build something called Juggernaut. It's their so-called Super Digimon, but it ain't no Digimon, I can tell you that." He grinned. He loved scaring the wits out of Digimon before he deleted them. "It's a special super virus. When it enters the Digital World... Bada Boom! Everything will be wiped out! Everything will be deleted!" He laughed.  
    There was a horrified look on Rena's face.  
"Aren't you going to do something about it?" she asked him. "If the Digital World is wiped out, surely you'll be deleted too."  
    Beelzemon grinned at her.  
"I won't be deleted," he told her. "I am forever. The more data I absorb, the stronger I become. It won't be long before I am invincible!" His grin turned into a toothy, fanged smile. Quickly, he reached out and grabbed Rena by the face. "You're quite a pretty Digimon, you know that?" he asked her. "Yes, I'd love to absorb you."  
    "Rena, jack out!" screamed Ruki all of a sudden.  
    The Taomon disappeared from Beelzemon's grasp. He merely laughed and his laughter echoed throughout the DarkNet.

* * * * *

    "Have you got the Mechanical Program yet?" asked the Hypnos Operator, as she remained in the darkness.  
    The Digimon shook her head.  
"I'm afraid not," she replied. "It won't be long now, though."  
    "You had better hurry up, for your sake."

* * * * *

    "WarGrowlmon, great work!" praised Takato. "We've got ourselves back on trajectory, thanks to you." A few seconds later, Takato made some unintelligable noise. "WarGrowlmon, Leomon's got himself stuck in a static field," he announced.  
    "Don't worry, I'm on it," said WarGrowlmon reassuringly, before he ran down the path. He suddenly stopped. "Er... Takato..."  
    Takato sighed heavily.  
"He's in Sector 3," he told his Digimon. Seconds later, WarGrowlmon still had a confused expression on his face. "You're in Sector 1."  
    WarGrowlmon nodded in acnowledgement.  
"Got it," he informed Takato, before he ran down the path. He fired his jet boosters and flew over the virus ahead of him. No point in wasting time battling it, after all.

* * * * *

    "WarGrowlmon, what are you doing?" asked Takato curiously.  
    "Searching for Leomon."  
    Takato blushed heavily in embarrassment.  
"Leomon's in Sector 3, not Sector 5," Takato told his Digimon. Moments later. "That's 1 again." A few more moments later, "That's still Sector 1."  
    "I must say your Digimon isn't giving me much confidence," stated Captain Reisz.  
    "Got it!" cried Alice. "Throttle program's fixed!"  
    "Right wing is fixed!" announced Jenrya.  
    Takato knew that all attention was fixed on him and his Digimon now. It was up to WarGrowlmon to fix the fix the landing gear program before they reached Beijing Spaceport. He looked up from his D-Scanner.  
"How much time have we got left?" he asked the pilot.  
    "We're just entering Asia Air Space," announced Capt. Reisz. "If he doesn't fix that landing gear program, we won't be able to land." He looked at the fuel gauge and it confirmed his fears. "We don't have much fuel, either, so either he gets it fixed or we drop out of the sky."  
    "I guess if worst comes to worse, we can always try an emergency landing," suggested the co-pilot.  
    "No!" protested Takato. "WarGrowlmon will fix the program, just you wait." He crossed his fingers himself and prayed for the best. "I know you can do it, WarGrowlmon," he told his Digimon. "I'm counting on you. We all are."

**_To be continued..._**


	10. Session 9: Hitori ni Sasenai

Digimon.EXE 

By Wolf O'Donnell

WARNING! May contain Alternative Universe situations and out-of-character experiences. Upon reading this, you hereby agree that you forfeit all your rights to sue me and that I cannot be held liable for any psychological or physical damage caused by the fact that I use British English spelling and that this fanfic contains graphic acts of a heterosexual and homosexual nature (not applicable to FanFiction.net version), extreme violence and use of swear words. Digimon is copyrighted by Bandai and Toei Animation Ltd. Wolf O'Donnell is copyrighted by Nintendo Ltd, although that might have nothing to do with the fanfic. Constructive criticism is very welcome.  
P.S. I've altered the entire structure of the fanfic. Please note that from now on, Jenrya's surname is Lee and that the fanfic is now rated PG-13.

* * * * *

Session 9: Hitori ni Sasenai  
    WarGrowlmon used the shield advance. His opponent's attack smashed into it, destroying the shield but protecting him. He ran and leapt into the air, landing right in front of the wood-type viruses. He slashed at it with his axe-like blades, cutting the virus in half.  
    "Turn right at the next junction," said Takato.  
    "Right," agreed WarGrowlmon with a nod of his head. He ran along the path of the computer. There wasn't much time left.  
    "Stop!"  
    The virus-class Digimon skidded to a halt. He saw a circular region within the network and there was a surge occupying it. Within the surge, being dragged around the circular path was Leomon. A small distance away, beyond the circular path was the surge control panel.  
"There's no way to get to the panel," WarGrowlmon told his Operator. "I have to go through the surge and if I do, I'll end up with Leomon."  
    "Here, take this!" cried Leomon and he threw a datapack through the air.  
    WarGrowlmon reached out and catched it, absorbing the data. It was one of Leomon's advances, Hvystmp.EXE Advance! A smile spread across WarGrowlmon's face.  
"Yeah, this'll do," he stated. He looked ahead for a strategic place to use it.  
    "Right, try and throw it towards the junction," suggested Takato. "DigiModify- Heavystomp activate!"  
    A spherical ball of metal appeared in WarGrowlmon's hands. It was now up to him. He raised it up to his eyes and judged the distance. If he failed, he would have to wait for the Advance to recharge. That could take forever and he just didn't have the time.  
"All right, here goes," he growled and then he lobbed it as far as he could. He watched and he would have crossed his fingers if it was possible. "Oh no!" he cried, as he saw Leomon being dragged towards the junction again.  
    The hvystmp.EXE program changed into a large heavy weight, hovering above the junction, as Leomon was dragged towards it. It came crashing down, just as Leomon passed the junction.  
    WarGrowlmon opened his eyes. He saw there was a break in the circuit where Leomon was and that the Digimon was no longer within the surge.  
"Leomon," he murmured, feeling the tears welling up.  
    "Don't cry, coz I'm not deleted yet," said Leomon's voice. That was when the leonine Digimon leapt out of the break in the circuit and on to the surge-free path. "I'll go rid the circuits of the surges," he announced. "You go and fix that landing gear problem."  
    "Roger," agreed Wargrowlmon with a nod of his head. He turned round and ran for it.

* * * * *

    Dr. Yamaki waited quietly within his laboratory. Behind him was what looked like a gigantic blackboard, except that the writing and diagrams scrawled on it flashed with bright colour. It was a computer screen designed to look like a blackboard. He sat at a gigantic desk with papers spread out in front of him.  
"This is getting infuriating," he muttered, as he looked at the reports. "These Devas have been at the scene of all our current operations."  
    He knew that those Devas had as of yet, been unable to prevent them from carrying out their plans. However, he saw that all his agents had been defeated by them.  
"It'll only be a matter of time before they find my headquarters," he growled angrily. "If they do, they could end up defeating me as well."  
    Yamaki sat there, thinking for a while. Only the buzzing of the equipment behind him could be heard. There was, however, nothing else.  
"I'd better have those Devas dealt with," he realised out loud. "Reiley!" he shouted out.  
    "Yes, sir?"  
    "Try and contact Agent Sabre," he told the woman. "We have to eliminate those Devas as soon as possible."

* * * * *

    "I see it! It's up ahead!" announced WarGrowlmon, as he ran along the path. He could see a platform that seemed as if was made out of old tires and on it was a control panel. "I'm nearly there!"  
    Something furry leapt into the way and slashed at him, sending him falling backwards. WarGrowlmon slowly got up to his feet, keeping an eye on what had knocked him over. It was a Digimon he didn't know. Could it have been a Hypnos Digimon?  
"Who are you?" he asked her.  
    "I am Antylamon," replied the pink, bunny Digimon with a smile on her face. "I am the Commanding Officer of Hypnos's Space Forces."  
    WarGrowlmon spread his legs, preparing himself for a fight with the Digimon.  
"So, you're the one responsible for all this," he growled angrily.  
    "That's right," laughed another voice, a female one that didn't belong to the Digimon. "Antylamon."  
    "Yes, Ms. Wong?" asked the Digimon.  
    "Has the Mechanical Program been sent off to Dr. Yamaki?" asked the female voice.  
    "Wait a minute, you're that flight attendant, Suzie!" cried Takato in disbelief.  
    If Takato could see Suzie's face, he would have known that she was smiling.  
"That's right, little boy," she confirmed. "But what are you going to do about it?" she asked him. "Are you going to fix the landing gear program and save these people? I won't allow you to do that. You Devas must be killed, even if it means I lose my life as well. Antylamon! Delete that Digimon!"  
    "Yes, ma'am," agreed Antylamon, before she leapt straight towards WarGrowlmon.  
    WarGrowlmon leapt out of the way, just as the bunny Digimon struck at him. He saw the huge crack she made in the terminal floor.  
"Wouldn't it be much better if we had a Duel instead?" he asked her, as the Adult level Digimon rushed straight towards him. He ducked underneath her punch and then sidestepped her out of the way of her powerful kick.  
    "You want a Duel?" laughed Antylamon, as she leapt straight at him, performing a spinning kick that knocked her opponent to the ground. "I don't think so! This is a fight to the deletion. One of us will be deleted and it won't be me!"  
    "DigiModify- Water Tower activate!" announced Suzie.  
    The ground suddenly exploded with water, and these geysers of fluid travelled across the floor and straight towards the fire type Digimon, WarGrowlmon. He couldn't get out of the way. Just as he managed to stand up, the water towers hit him and doused him.  
    "Hang on, boy!" called out Takato, as Antylamon swung a punch at WarGrowlmon. "DigiModify- Holyshield activate!"  
    Instead of wounding WarGrowlmon, Antylamon's punch merely healed him. A smile spread across his scaly face.  
"Here, take this!" he roared, as he swung his arm in an arc at her, slashing at her with his axe blade. "Atomic Blaster!" The cannons on either side of his shoulders began to charge up and he fired powerful twin beams of red energy straight at his opponent.  
    Antylamon did several back-flips, retreating from the lasers. The last leap took her above the lasers and she landed unscathed back on the floor.  
    "DigiModify- Meteor Shower!" announced Suzie.  
    Antylamon crossed her arms and closed her eyes. Several fiery rocks came flying down from above, smashing randomly into the ground in front of her. She stayed put, not wanting to venture forward and hit by her own attack.  
    WarGrowlmon leapt out of the way, nearly being crushed by a fiery rock.  
"Takato, I need an Advance now!" he called out.  
    "I've got it!" exclaimed Takato. "DigiModify- Lava Line activate!"  
    The floor underneath WarGrowlmon turned into a fiery mass of very thick lava, such that he only sunk in to his ankles. A line of this lava travelled out straight in front of him and towards Antylamon. He took the change. The lava hurt his opponent. He ran along the lava. Since he was a fire-type it didn't affect him.  
"Take this Double Edge!" he roared, as he slashed out at Antylamon.  
    Though wounded, Antylamon managed to leap over the axe blades. In mid-air, she spun round and kicked at WarGrowlmon's head, knocking him back and sideways.  
    "Atomic Blaster!" roared WarGrowlmon, as he fired a powerful twin beam of energy at his opponent. He missed.  
    "WarGrowlmon, you can't just go in slashing at things like that," Jenrya said. "You've got to plan things out."  
    A frown appeared on WarGrowlmon's face. Plan things out? He dodged another punch and another kick, backing off. He stepped back on to the lava line. Antylamon leapt over it. He slashed at her, but missed. That was when he felt her land on top of it. WarGrowlmon fell over and tried to roll over and crush her underneath, but she leapt out of the way, landing on the other side of the lava line.  
    "DigiModify- Grass Stage activate!" announced Takato. "DigiModify- Heat Shot activate!"  
    A wave of grass suddenly surrounded them. This was perfect. Any fire attack dealt double damage on a grass tile and quadruple damage to any wood-type Digimon on a grass tile. It was a shame that WarGrowlmon didn't have much in the way of fire attacks. That was where the Heat Shot came in.  
"Heat Shot!" roared WarGrowlmon, and spat out a sphere of fire that hurtled towards Antylamon, burning up the grass it passed over.  
    It hit Antylamon and she cried out in pain, as the flames licked at her. She was thrown back by the force of the blast. Knelt down on the floor, clutching at her wounds, she looked up at WarGrowlmon.  
"You're going to pay for that," she told him. "You'll pay with your life!" She leapt up from the ground and hurtled straight towards her opponent.  
    "Tri Beam!"  
    A green beam of energy smashed into the floor in front of Antylamon, making her back off. She looked ahead of her and saw three Digimon approach her. There was Rapidmon, Dobermon and of course, Leomon.  
    "I think it's time to activate the Duelling Area, don't you think?" suggested Suzie.  
    "Yes," agreed Antylamon.  
    "Well, I don't," stated Takato coldly. "You refused a Duel, so now I'm going to refuse a Duel with you."  
    WarGrowlmon frowned. He had never seen this cold side of Takato.  
"Takato, I want to accept this duel," he told his friend. "Please, let me fight them in a duel," he pleaded.  
    "No, boy, this has to be settled once and for all," was Takato's reply. "DigiModify- Max Force activate! DigiModify- Hyper Speed activate! DigiModify- Hyper Wing activate! Go!"  
    The Advances all merged together to form a more powerful Advance, the HyperBullet Advance. It dealt plenty of damage and what with WarGrowlmon's axe-laden arms, it was a formidable Advance. WarGrowlmon shot across the terminal and smashed into Antylamon, sending her spinning through the air and crashing to the floor.  
    Beaten and battered, Antylamon slowly tried to get back up but found that she couldn't. She was weak, yet she would not give up. She would not do so.  
"Suzie, please, help me," she pleaded.  
    "Hang on a minute," announced Suzie. "Got it! DigiModify- Void activate!"  
    A huge void appeared around Antylamon and began sucking things in.  
    "You're in big trouble now," chuckled Suzie. "The Void will delete anything that comes into contact with it. That includes your Digimon."

* * * * *

    A grimace had spread across Takato's face. He was horrified. Takato couldn't believe that Hypnos would stoop so low. He bit his lower lip, as he tried to think up of a way to stop that Hypnos agent. There was no digital way he could think up of.  
"Jen, hold my D-Scanner," he told Jenrya. "I'm going after Wong."  
    "What? Are you serious?" exclaimed Jenrya in disbelief. "You could get yourself hurt." He refused Takato's D-Scanner. "Look, I'll go after her. I'm sure that if I can..."  
    "Jen! I'll go!" protested Takato. "I can't let her delete WarGrowlmon. He's my friend and friends don't let friends die."  
    Jenrya handed his D-Scanner over to Juri. He then reached out and grabbed Takato by the shoulders, shaking the brown-haired youth.  
"Takato, stop it!" he shouted, as Takato began to babble incoherently and angrily about how he would punish Suzie for what she was doing. "Don't you cry now, you're a Deva! Stop it!" He shook Takato harder and then slapped his friend. "Takato, listen to me. You're not strong enough to face her. She's a fully grown adult and you're not. I'll go. I know Kung Fu, so I'll be okay. Got it?"  
    "Yeah," replied Takato quietly, looking sideways.  
    "Right now, your Digimon needs you, Takato," stated Jenrya. "We need you here, not out there facing the Hypnos Agent. You'll help WarGrowlmon and Rapidmon out, won't you?"  
    Takato nodded silently.  
"Yeah, sure," he replied. "I'm sorry," he apologised, as he reflected on his hysterical behaviour beforehand. "I'm sorry, guys."  
    "Don't be," stated Alice with a smile on her face.  
    "Yeah, don't be," agreed Juri with a nod.  
    Takato smiled at them.  
"I'll stay," he told Jenrya.  
    Jenrya didn't need to say another word. He unplugged his D-Scanner and then dashed out of the cockpit.

* * * * *

    WarGrowlmon raised his arm and smashed it down into the floor, his axe blade burying into it. Now that he was anchored down, he could help the others.  
"Grab my arm!" cried out WarGrowlmon.  
    Leomon reached out and grabbed his arm, reaching out and grabbed Dobermon simultaneously. He looked towards Antylamon. The void around her was destroying quite a bit of the circuitry they were on. If this contiued, there wouldn't be much left.  
"We've got to continue fighting her," he shouted over the howling winds. "Dobermon, would you do the honours?"  
    "Sure," growled the canine Digimon, as he turned his head to face Antylamon. "Heat Shot!" He opened his mouth and fired a jet of flames at Antylamon.

* * * * *

    "I thought I'd find you here," said Jenrya, as he pushed his way past the curtains.  
    Suzie turned round and glared at Jenrya. She whirled round and aimed a gun at him.  
"You've got quite some nerve to come for me, kid," she told him, aiming the weapon at him. The flight attendant had managed to sneak it in unnoticed by the other crew. After all, who would suspect your own staff of sabotaging the shuttle? "I won't let you take me in. Not before getting rid of you Devas, at least."  
    "What do you hope to achieve by doing all this?" he asked her.  
    "I'm sick of this entire world," shouted Suzie angrily. "I'm sick of how it continues to go on. I was alive when the meteorite struck the Earth. You know why it happened? It was because of the International Space Agency. It was attempting to divert a meteorite, as an experiment, just in case one did come on a collision course with us. That meteorite was the very one that struck the Earth. It wouldn't have struck our Planet if they hadn't gone around and meddled with its course." Tears streamed down her cheeks. "I lost my home and my family because of them."  
    Jenrya shook his head. His hands were raised to show that he had no weapons on him.  
"That's no reason to do this," he told her.  
    "Yes it is!" screamed Suzie. "Soon, when Hypnos completes the Juggernaut, I'll have my revenge!"  
    That was when Jenrya rushed her, knocking the gun out of her hand. He grabbed it before she could and aimed it at her.  
"Now deactivate the void," he told her.

* * * * *

    Antylamon frowned. Why had the void disappeared?  
    "It's over," WarGrowlmon told her, as he placed an axe blade to her. "You've lost."

**_To be continued..._**


	11. Session 10: What Planet is This?

**Digimon.EXE**

**By Wolf O'Donnell**

WARNING! May contain Alternative Universe situations and out-of-character experiences. Upon reading this, you hereby agree that you forfeit all your rights to sue me and that I cannot be held liable for any psychological or physical damage caused by the fact that I use British English spelling and that this fanfic contains non-graphic depictions of a heterosexual and homosexual nature. Digimon is copyrighted by Bandai and Toei Animation Ltd. Wolf O'Donnell is copyrighted by Nintendo Ltd, although that might have nothing to do with the fanfic. Digimon.EXE is based on Rockman.EXE, which is copyrighted by Capcom Ltd. Constructive criticism is very welcome.

* * * * *

Session 10: What Planet is This?  
    Takato inhaled deeply.  
"Ah, so this is what fresh air is like," he commented, as he stepped out of the spaceport. He looked around him and for the others. They were waiting at the bus stop that would take them to one of Asia's most technological cities. "Hey, wait up!" he called out to them, as he ran up to the others.  
    "You were in there for a long time," commented Juri. "The in-flight meal not agree with you?"  
    "Yeah," replied Takato sheepishly.  
    "You missed Ms. Wong being frog-marched out of the Space Port," mentioned Alice.  
    "I did?" exclaimed Takato in disbelief. "Aw, man!" He sighed frustratedly.  
    Jenrya checked his watch as he said, "Well, don't worry. I'm sure we'll get to arrest more bad guys." He then looked up and around him. "That's strange, he commented. The bus should be here by now to take us to our hotel." Was it late or had they arrived late and missed the bus entirely?  
    "I wonder what the meeting will be about," stated Alice in an attempt to strike up a conversation.  
    "What else could it be about?" asked Jenrya. "It's Hypnos for sure."  


    Ruki entered Dr. Lee's office. She had never reported to such a high-ranking Official before, but now! What an honour! Walking into the office, she brought out her D-Scanner.  
"Dr. Lee, I have the report you wanted," she announced, before he could even ask her what she wanted from him. She handed her D-Scanner over to him.  
    "The report on the Syndicates?" asked Dr. Lee just to make sure. He saw Ruki nod. "That's great," exclaimed Jenrya's father, as he plugged Ruki's D-Scanner into his computer. "Let's see what they're up to."  
    "It appears they all know about Hypnos's operations," she told them. "They're attempting to build a Super Digimon, or rather, a super virus by the name of Juggernaut. Once it enters the Digital World, it will delete everything." To Ruki that meant only one thing. "That means Hypnos must be creating Juggernaut on the Orbital Space Ring," she concluded. "The only question is where on the Space Ring."  
    Dr. Lee examined all the information carefully. He downloaded it from Ruki's D-Scanner, being sure to leave Rena on it.  
"It seems as if we've got to work overtime," he sighed. "I'll send your data to the Convention in Beijing and to the other Deva and Officials Offices across the Earth Sphere." He glanced sideways at the papers on his desk. Yamaki.  
    "Sir, is something wrong?" asked Ruki with concern.  
    For a while, Dr. Lee wasn't sure whether he should tell her. After all, it was all on high level authority.  
"Let me tell you about the past," he told her, as he tented his fingers. "A long time ago, my father worked on something called a D-Scanner. He created special programs for them called Digitally Integrated General Information Manager and Online Navigators or DIGIMON, as you may well know." He paused hesitantly for a moment, before continuing. "He was friends with a man by the name of Yamaki Mitsuo."  
    "The two of them were brilliant scientists. While my father worked on the D-Scanners, Yamaki worked on trying to create new life forms," he continued. Dr. Lee opened one of his drawers, as he continued talking. "He had discovered a way of manifesting digital data, something he called BioEmerging. He claimed that this could be used to mass produce products cheaply. All one had to do was copy, paste and then BioEmerge the products."   
    Ruki wondered.  
"What happened to his project?" she asked Dr. Lee. Why hadn't he gone through with it? Was it the possibility that Digimon could have been BioEmerged as well?  
    "There was only enough money for one project," replied Dr. Lee. "So each one of them worked against each other. Dr. Yamaki claimed that his work could turn Digmon into real living creatures that could be used as a task force." He finally found what he was looking for and brought out a picture. "This is him here with my father," he said, as he handed it to Ruki. "You can guess whose project got cut."  
    "Yamaki's," muttered Ruki under her breath.  
    Dr. Lee sighed.  
"Yamaki vowed revenge against my father, before he disappeared," he continued. "And now, my son, Jenrya, has confirmed the name of Hypnos's Leader to be Yamaki."  
    There was a look of surprise on Ruki's face.  
"Do you think it could be him?" she asked.  
    "It must be," replied Dr. Lee quietly. "It must be him."  


    Having visited the Temple of the Sun, Earth and Heaven, they had then visited the Summer City. Beijing had modernised quite a lot, with plenty of futuristic looking high-rises that towered up into the sky. However, the old places of Beijing, the old palaces and temples still resided.  
    "So where to now?" asked Takato, as he stood in Tiananmen Square with the others.  
    Jenrya looked at his watch.  
"We've got to get to the Forbidden City," he told the others. That was where Beijing's Officials HQ was located. "Guys, check your e-mail."  
    Each one of them picked up their D-Scanners and looked at it, searching for their e-mail. The four of them had each received an e-mail from the Officials stating the time at which the meeting would begin. It also gave them maps and special codes to enter the secret Officials Base that had been hidden within the Forbidden City a long time ago.  
    "We'd better get going."

* * * * *

    In the Darkness of the Hypnos Computers, something began to form. At first it was small and had no set shape, but then it became spherical. The thing grew and glowed with an intense darkness that somehow illuminated the entire place. It glowed so darkly that its edges became blood red.  
    An insane laughter echoed all around it.  
"Soon the Juggernaut will be complete," chuckled the voice. "It won't be long now before my creation is born. One more program shall do the trick and then you can say goodbye to the Earth Sphere! Goodbye to everything!"  
    A blue sphere suddenly floated towards the dark sphere of energy and merged with it. It made the dark sphere glow more darkly and smallers balls of dark energy broke off away from it and started orbiting the Juggernaut like electrons around an atom's nucleus.

* * * * *

    Jenrya reached into the mouth of the lion statue and felt around. Yes, he could feel the keys of the numberpad under his fingers. He could feel the numbers engraved into it. Thinking carefully of which numbers were which, he pressed the buttons. He stepped away when he heard a grating sound, pulling his hand out of the statue's mouth. The wall in front of them slid open to reveal a high tech command centre on the other side.  
    Neither of the four dared to venture in. They stood there in amazement.  
    "What are we waiting for?" asked Juri, as she walked past them. "Come on!" she caled out to them, before stepping in. She looked around her.  
    There were several people all of different nations. It seemed that they were the only ones that hadn't arrived yet. Well, that was okay.  
    "Welcome!" greeted a black-haired man at a large screen on one side of the room. It was Dr. Oikawa, the Founder of the DEVA Organisation. "Please, do come in before the panel shuts," he called out to the remaining three. "Well, let's get started shall we?" he suggested, as the Devas all took their seats.

* * * * *

    "I don't understand, Ruki," stated Rena, as she floated down the path of the DarkNet. She had digivolved in the past few hours to her Mega level. "Why are we back here? Dr. Lee said there was nothing else that we could do."  
    "There's always something else we can do," argued Ruki. "Right now, that something is hacking into the Dark Ocean."  
    Underneath the golden armour, Rena frowned. The golden, armoured Sakuyamon had never heard that tone of voice used by Ruki. Something was up.  
"Ruki, do you think we can do it?" she asked her Operator. "What if we're not prepared for the Dark Ocean?" She continued on down the dark path, passing a few dead trees and a sign that warned her to go back or else.  
    "We're prepared," stated Ruki calmly.  


    The Hypnos Digimon smiled, as he reached out and turned the switch on. Everything was going according to plan. Very soon, nothing would get in their way of finishing the Juggernaut Project. The Digimon knew that the Super Digimon would be finished soon and it would help them conquer the Earth Sphere. Little did he know, however, that he was being lied to by Yamaki.

* * * * *

    An alarm suddenly wailed. Dr. Oikawa turned round.  
"What's going on?" he asked out.  
    "Sir, someone's hacked into our security system," announced one of the Officials. That was before the Official fell through a trapdoor. Several more opened all around the command centre and every Deva fell through it.  


    "Ouch, my head," groaned Takato, as he sat up. He looked up and saw that the trapdoor had closed. "Who put that there?" he wondered out loud. That was when his D-Scanner started ringing. As if his head didn't hurt enough! He picked it up and flipped the lid open.  
    "Is everyone okay?" asked Dr. Oikawa.  
    "Well, I'm fine," replied Takato. Over his D-Scanner, he heard the voices of the others. Obviously Dr. Oikawa had created a multilink between all the D-Scanners of every Deva, so that they could all talk to each other at the same time.  
    "Someone's activated the security system and trapped us here," stated Dr. Oikawa. "We'd better leave our communication lines wide open and regroup together." That was when there was a loud roaring sound and Dr. Oikawa's scream could be heard.  
    Takato winced, holding his D-Scanner away from his ear. He heard no more sounds.  
"Dr. Oikawa?" he exclaimed. "Hello? Anybody there?" He heard the voices of the other Devas but there was no word from Dr. Oikawa. Could it be that the security system had got him? `I'd better see if I can find the others,` thought Takato, as he got up to his feet. He looked around him and found that he was the only one in a cell-like room.  
    The door, however, was wide open. `If someone wanted to get rid of me, then why would the door be open?` wondered Takato. He stepped cautiously through the doorway, ready to leap back when ready. Being a wimpy coward really did have its good points.  
"Hello, anyone there?" asked Takato, just in case another Deva was on the otherside.  
    "Hey! What's going on?" shouted one of the Devas, his voice coming from Takato's D-Scanner. There was a scream.  
    This was beginning to be like one of those horror movies, where the heroes are separated and picked off one by one by some mysterious creature. Takato's heartbeat was racing.  
    "Takato, you all right?" asked Jenrya's voice.  
    "I'm fine, Jenrya," replied Takato. `What, can't Jen tell the difference between my voice and another guy's voice?` thought Takato. "Where are you?" he asked.  
    "I'm not sure," was Jenrya's reply.  
    Takato walked out of the doorway and came into another empty, cell like room. He wondered when these things were built. Suddenly, he heard a whooshing sound. Takato leapt backwards, as a couple of arrows flew past him. He landed back on the cold, hard, stone floor and looked to the wall where the arrows were. They formed a column of arrows from the floor to the ceiling.  
    "Say, isn't that a jack-in port?" wondered Takato out loud, as he saw something next to the opening where the arrows came out from. Perhaps he could deactivate the trap. "WarGrowlmon, I'm going to jack you in," he told his Digimon, as he brought out his D-Scanner.

* * * * *

    Moments later, WarGrowlmon found himself in a strange network. It was unlike any he had seen before. The path looked like a part of the Wall of China. It seemed as if it was made out of brick and looked very old, as if parts of it would crumble. This path and the terminals, some of which had turrets, floated within what looked like an ancient Chinese Palace that had no floor or ceiling.  
"This network looks pretty old, Takato," he called out to his Operator.  
    "Be careful, then, WarGrowlmon," warned Takato. "I'll make a back-up copy of you just in case."  
    A smile spread across WarGrowlmon's face.  
"Thanks," he thanked his friend. He knew that his consciousness was in the D-Scanner. If he got deleted, then his consciousness would be transferred back into the back-up copy in the D-Scanner.  
    WarGrowlmon stepped cautiously forward and the floor crumbled. He fired his jet boosters and flew to safety, landing on a more stable part of the path. He looked behind him, his breath ragged from the fright he had received.  
"When was this place built?" he wondered out loud. He looked around himself. "Takato, have you got a lock on the switch's location?"  
    "Not yet," replied Takato, as WarGrowlmon moved cautiously forwards.  
    There was an awful moaning and wailing from the path to his right. WarGrowlmon turned round to see what looked like a grave. A grave? The Digimon felt nervous, very nervous. That was when he something rise up from the grave. It was a Program but had its arms outstretched. Imagine Calumon wearing a black Chinese robe, with a little black cap and with fangs. It floated in the air, its arms outstretched. It then hopped like a Chinese vampire would.  
    Legends say that Chinese vampires are stiff all over, due to rigor mortis. Thus the only way they can move is through hopping. If wounded by a Chinese vampire, it is said that wounded person becomes a vampire. Whether that applied to the vampiric Program that was hopping on thin-air towards WarGrowlmon, was another matter altogether.  
    "I'm out of here!" shouted WarGrowlmon, before he ran down the path with the Program in hot pursuit. Turning round, he saw that the vampire was closing in on him. "Darn!" he cursed and then tripped over on a step and fell flat on the flight of stairs. "Stairs! Thank Azulongmon!" he cried out and ran up them as quickly as possible.  
    The vampire was having a little trouble with the stairs. Yes, it could climb them, but they were slowing it down. You try hopping up a flight of stairs, and you'll know what I mean.  
    WarGrowlmon took this opportunity to run for it and bumped into something, which screamed.  
    "You frightened me," stated the little white Program, holding his hand to his chest. "What are you doing wandering around in this network anyway?"  
    "I'm here to deactivate the trap," replied WarGrowlmon.  
    "Well, be careful. There's bandits, vampires and zombies about," the little white Program told WarGrowlmon.  
    WarGrowlmon looked behind him at the flight of steps that led down to where the vampire was.  
"I know about the vampire," he said. "Bandits? Zombies? What are they like?"  
    The little Program looked around him cautiously, as if he was afraid that one was sneaking up on him.  
"Bandits are Programs that have been corrupted by some kind of virus," replied the little white Program. "They steal things. It's pretty easy to avoid them though. They always turn right whenever at a junction. So predictable. The Zombies aren't that bad. They just drag you back to their grave, which can be quite inconvenient if you're going somewhere. It's the vampires, you've got to watch out for. They'll suck your health and if you don't treat yourself, you'll become one too."  
    "Just a word of warning, there's a vampire down those stairs," WarGrowlmon warned the little white Program.  
    The Program hopped on to WarGrowlmon's shoulders and leaned forward, peering towards the staircase.  
"You're right," agreed the Program, as it hopped off of him. "Well, I'm out of here." The Program then floated off, flying away from WarGrowlmon.  
    "Wait!" called out WarGrowlmon. "You could at least tell me where the switch program is!" The Program was too far gone, however. He sighed. "Well, guess I have to find it myself."

**_To be Continued..._**


	12. Session 11: Chicken Bone

Digimon.EXE 

By Wolf O'Donnell

WARNING! May contain Alternative Universe situations and out-of-character experiences. Upon reading this, you hereby agree that you forfeit all your rights to sue me and that I cannot be held liable for any psychological or physical damage caused by the fact that I use British English spelling and that this fanfic contains graphic acts of a heterosexual and homosexual nature (not applicable to FanFiction.net version), extreme violence and use of swear words. Digimon is copyrighted by Bandai and Toei Animation Ltd. Wolf O'Donnell is copyrighted by Nintendo Ltd, although that might have nothing to do with the fanfic. Constructive criticism is very welcome.

* * * * *

Session 11: Chicken Bone  
    "Don't worry, Alice, you'll be all right," said Jenrya, as he struggled onwards. Alice's arms was slung over his shoulders and he was having to carry her on his back. However, he would get her out of the dungeons. "I've called for the ambulance," he told her. "All we have to do now is to get out of here."  
    Alice felt weak. Jenrya had managed to bandage up the wound pretty well, but she was still feeling lethargic.  
"Forget about me," she told him. "I won't make it."  
    "Sure you will," argued Jenrya. "I'll make sure you make it!"  


    "How's it going, boy?" asked Takato curiously, as he stood there in the dark room. He waited for a reply. Suddenly, he heard a scream and it didn't come from WarGrowlmon either. It was probably one of the other Devas. "This can't be happening," muttered Takato under his breath. "Why is this happening?" he cried, tears streaming from his eyes, as he collapsed to his knees. "All I wanted was to make this world a better place. Is that so bad?" He hugged himself, not sure whether his Digimon had been deleted or whether his friends had died.

* * * * *

    WarGrowlmon stepped back. He would have to face the Zombie himself. The little grey Program looked entirely frightening, its arms outstretched, parts of its head missing. However, he'd get rid of it himself. With a roar, he fired his Atomic Blaster. Twin beams of energy pulsed ahead of him and smashed into the Zombie, tearing it apart.  
    Something rushed past and bumped into him, knocking WarGrowlmon out of the way. It was a purple Program and it had a sack slung over its shoulder. A Bandit!  
"Hey, come back!" he shouted, and ran after it.

* * * * *

    The brown-haired girl sat quietly at the control panel, watching the Devas being picked off one by one. This was not like her, but she had to do this for Hypnos. She had to do it, otherwise her home country would be destroyed by Hypnos. She had no other choice. Juri had to protect Phyle from Hypnos by siding with Hypnos.  
"How is everything, Leomon?" asked Juri curiously.  
    "It's all going smoothly," replied Leomon's voice from the D-Scanner that had been plugged into the control panel. "Someone's attempting to access the network, though."  
    The image on all the monitors changed to that of Takato.  
    Juri leaned forward in surprise. Takato? She liked him, but she knew that Takato would never be her girlfriend.  
"Don't worry about him," she told Leomon. "Takato's a klutz. He won't be able to stop us." She looked sideways away from the monitors. Yes, she liked Takato very much. Perhaps she could let him live. No, perhaps she could appear to save him. Then she'd earn his love. "Activate the next room's trap and then jack out," ordered Juri. "We've got a heart to win."  


    "Takato, don't cry," said WarGrowlmon, making the brown-haired youth look up. "I've nearly got the trap deactivated."  
    A smile slowly spread across Takato's dampened face.  
"Thanks, boy," he thanked WarGrowlmon.

* * * * *

    "It's no problem," replied WarGrowlmon, as he tightened the digital rope around the Bandit. That'll teach the corrupted Program to steal from him. He took the stolen money back from the Bandit. Somehow, the Bandit had managed to steal money from Takato's account.  
    WarGrowlmon turned and saw a firewall blocking the way. He sighed.  
"Takato, I'll have to go back," he told his Operator. "There's a firewall in the way and I probably need a key." He then turned right and walked back down the path he had come down, leaping over a hole he had accidentally caused a few minutes back. He stopped and then saw the turret that he hadn't visited. "Rapunzely," he commented.  
    That was when WarGrowlmon felt a stabbing pain in his left leg. He kicked out and sent something flying back. Turning round, WarGrowlmon saw a Vampire crash on to the floor and burst apart into tiny bits of digital data due to the force of its landing. His pupils dilated in fear.  
"Uh, Takato, I've been bitten or something by a Vampire," he told his brown-haired Operator.  
    "What?" exclaimed Takato in disbelief. There was a moment when all Takato could do um and uh. "Er... don't worry, boy. I've got a repair patch here somewhere."  
    "You'd better hurry," WarGrowlmon said. "I can feel... the hunger..."  
    "Stop being so overdramatic," said Takato. "It doesn't work that quickly. At least, I hope it doesn't." There was silence once more, as WarGrowlmon stood there all alone on the stone path. "Ah! I've found it! DigiModify- Max Heal activate!"  
    WarGrowlmon instantly felt refreshed. The wound on his leg disappeared. The Digimon felt much better.  
"Thanks, Takato," he thanked his Operator.  
    "That's okay, pal," said Takato. "Now do you think you could find that key?"  
    "Sure thing, Takato," replied WarGrowlmon with a nod of his head. He then ran as fast as he could along the path, trying his best to move towards the turret. He turned a corner and then found himself on a straight stretch towards the turret. "Whoa!" he cried out and dived to the side, hitting against the invisible wall that prevented him from straying and falling off the path. He turned and looked to see an arrow had implanted itself into the floor right next to his foot.  
    The Digimon craned his neck and looked up at the tower. Another arrow flew from one of the window slits and down towards him. WarGrowlmon rolled out of the way and leapt to his feet.  
"Who keeps firing at me?" he wondered out loud. Oh well. "Atomic Blaster!" He fired a powerful twin beam of energy at the tower. His attack didn't crack the wall one bit.  
    Firing his jet boosters, WarGrowlmon skimmed across the stone floor and headed straight towards the tower. He turned his shoulder towards the wooden door of the tower and rammed into it. The door, which obviously failed to audition for the position of sturdy object at the most impregnable fortress, shattered into a million toothpick-sized splinters. That would have been fine for WarGrowlmon- free toothpicks- were it not for the fact that Digimon, being computer programs, didn't eat. However, in his digital dreams, WarGrowlmon was sure that if Digimon did eat, they would do so by the truckload.  
    WarGrowlmon ran up the flight of stairs and then smashed his way through another door, which must have also failed for the part of impregnable doorway.  
    What WarGrowlmon saw next was not what he expected. Tied to a digital chair was a Program dressed like Attila the Hun and the Program's captor was dressed like a Damsel in Distress. However, this Program was far from in distress and the machine gun its stubby little arms confirmed that fact to WarGrowlmon.  
    Seconds after WarGrowlmon dived for cover, the stonework of the doorway exploded into stone chips as the Damsel-like Program unloaded its machine gun into the doorway.  
"What is going on here?" he wondered out loud. "Where's the key for the fire wall?" he shouted.  
    "Who wants to know?" retorted the Program (the one which wasn't tied to a chair and gagged).  
    "I'm here to deactivate the trap," roared back WarGrowlmon, as he hid behind the wall for cover.  
    "WarGrowlmon, you've got armour," Takato reminded his Digimon.  
    That fact suddenly hit WarGrowlmon like a ton of bricks, which is, incidentally, what fell to the stone floor seconds later, as he smashed his way through the wall. He lunged straight towards the machine-gun-wielding Program with his arms held up in front of him to shield his face. As he ran, he kept his body low down to the ground, so that his legs were as protected as possible from the machine gun.  
    WarGrowlmon smacked the Program out of the way, simultaneously cutting the ropes that bound the other Program.  
"Oh, whoops," exclaimed WarGrowlmon, as he realised he had hit the Damsel Program a little bit too hard and had set it out of the window. He sighed and turned round. "You okay?" he asked the barbarian-like Program.  
    "Yeah, I'm fine," replied the Program, as it floated over towards the window.  
    "So, erm, may I ask, where's the key to the fire wall?" asked WarGrowlmon. "The one that blocks the way to the switch?"  
    "You pushed it out the window," came the reply.  
    WarGrowlmon sighed frustratedly, his shoulders sagging.

* * * * *

    "It's done!" announced WarGrowlmon proudly, seconds later.  
    "Great job, WarGrowlmon," praised Takato, before he removed his D-Scanner from the port. He moved cautiously towards the opening where the arrows came out. Nothing. He stepped past. Still nothing. Takato smiled in relief. "Jen, guys, can you hear me?" he asked. There came no reply from his D-Scanner.  
    A wall of flames suddenly appeared from apparently nowhere. Takato looked around him. He was completely surrounded. The flames boxed him and they were unbearably close. He was getting hotter by the second, sweat dripping from his forehead and off his nose.  
"Oh, man, it's hot in here," panted Takato. It was getting unbearably close. Hey! Were the flames getting closer? They were!  
    "Hold on, Takato!" cried a voice.  
    "Juri?"  
    There was a sudden sound and foam doused the flames. Takato took his opportunity and ran out of the now broken box of flames.  
"Thanks, Juri," he panted, looking back at the box of flames. "Say, have you found the others?" he asked Juri.  
    "No, I'm afraid not," replied Juri with a shake of her head. "I take it you haven't found them, either."  
    Takato shook his head in reply.  
"Nope," he sighed miserably. He looked around him. "We've got to get out of here," he stated calmly. "We've got to find the others."  


    Jenrya ran as quickly as he could back through the dark corridors. Alice was now safe with the paramedics. She would be taken to the hospital. Now, he had to warn Takato about Juri. He had to tell him the truth about him.  
"I hope I'm not too late," he murmured, as he turned a corner.  


    There was something about Juri. Takato couldn't quite put his finger on it, as he looked at her, walking cautiously through the dark corridors underneath the Forbidden City. She seemed preoccupied with something. She seemed very different. He turned his head quickly, when she turned round to face him. Was she hitting on him?  
    "Takato," began Juri quietly, as she stopped in her tracks. "I was wondering something."  
    Takato stopped himself and turned round to face her.  
"Yeah, Juri?" he asked her when he heard silence after her sentence. Was she really hitting on him? He couldn't tell. After all, he, Matsuda Takato, was the Master of the Oblivious. "Is something wrong?" he asked her, as he moved closer to her. "Juri?"  
    Juri looked up at him. Her eyes were glistening slightly, as she looked up at him.  
"Takato," she began, as she closed in on him.  
    "Get away from him!"  
    "Huh?" exclaimed Takato, as he turned round. He saw Jenrya standing behind him. "Jenrya! Am I so glad to see you!"  
    "Back away from her, Takato," said Jenrya sternly, as he glared at Juri. "She's one of them. She's a Hypnos agent."  
    Takato turned round to look at Juri. Her head was lowered. Was this in shame?  
"I don't believe it," he murmured, as he backed slowly away from her. "Juri, is it true?" he asked her. He had always figured her to be a gentle girl. Never had he thought of her as a criminal and a terrorist. Never had he thought that she would join the Hypnos Organisation. "Juri, answer me."  
    "I guess fate doesn't like me," sobbed Juri sadly. "Now Hypnos will destroy Phyle." Tears were streaming down her cheeks. "I won't let you ruin everything!" she shouted at them angrily. "This is my destiny, to save Phyle from Hypnos! I won't let you take away everything I love!" She turned round and rushed towards the nearest entrance.  
    Jenrya realised what she was doing.  
"No, stop!" he shouted, as he ran towards her.  
    "I'm sorry, Takato," she apologised through sobs, as she conneced her D-Scanner to a port, "but I have to do this." The door closed in front of her.  
    "No! Open this up!" cried Jenrya, as he banged at the door.  
    There was a grating sound as of stone against stone. Takato looked up and saw the ceiling descend towards him.  
"Now that's what I call a pressing situation," he sighed, as he saw the ceiling drop.  
    "Takato, help me!" shouted Jenrya, as he turned to face Takato. He then realised that Takato would have been little use. 'It's all up to me now,' he thought to himself, as he backed away. Jenrya rushed straight over to the door and rammed himself into the door in an attempt to break it down. This door, however, had succeeded in auditioning for the role of unbreakable object and Jenrya merely bounced off it harmlessly. "Ouch, that smarts!" he cried out.  
    "Jen, you okay?" asked Takato, as he rushed towards his friend.  
    The half-Chinese, half-Japanese youth nodded slightly.  
"I'll be fine, as long as I don't strain myself," Jenrya told Takato. "It's up to you now." He reached into his pocket with his unwounded arm and brought out a small Swiss army knife. "Takato, see if you can hack your way through that wall," he said, pointing at the position with his knife. "If you can get to the wires, you can probably connect your D-Scanner and stop her."  
    Takato took the knife from Jenrya wordlessly.  
    "And be careful you don't end up cutting the wire," warned Jenrya.  
    There was no need to tell him. Takato knew to be careful. He looked at the part of the wall that Jenrya gestured towards. It did look reasonably weak. Perhaps he could hack through to the wires. He looked up momentarily at the ceiling. It was getting uncomfortably close. 'This is it,' he thought wordlessly, before he lunged at it and started chipping away at the old brick and plaster.  
    It was hard work, but Takato had to keep at it. He didn't want to be crushed flatter than a pancake, after all.  
"I've got through!" he announced to Jenrya.  
    "Right, cover your hands with some insulative material," ordered Jenrya. "Anything will do."  
    Insulative material? Well, the only thing that Takato could think up of was the bandana he wore around his neck. He took it off and began wrapping it around his hand.  
"Okay, that's done," he told Jenrya. "Now what?"  
    "Carefully cut away at the insulative covering of the orange wire," instructed Jenrya. He reached into his pocket with his good arm and brought out a crocodile clip. "Here, take this," he said, as he walked up and handed it to Takato. "Take your D-Scanner's connection port and take it off. Put the crocodile clip on the end of the wire and carefully attach it to the exposed wire on the wall. Make sure you don't touch the stuff with you bare hands."  
    Cautiously, Takato flicked out the knife blade and then began gently sawing away at the plastic covering of the wire. Beads of sweat were trickling down his skin, as he worked away at the wire. One false move and he would be electrocuted. Too slow and they would be crushed to a pulp.  
    "Slowly does it, Takato," said Jenrya quietly.  
    Takato nodded quietly. He slowly started to peel away at the covering with the hand on which was wrapped his bandana.  
    Jenrya watched carefully, as Takato underwent everything he had told him to do. With his wounded arm, he wouldn't be able to help, so he was counting on his friend to make every moment count.  
"That's it, careful," he warned Takato.  
    "Okay, WarGrowlmon, get ready," Takato told his Digimon, as he moved the crocodile clip closer to the exposed wire. "This is it now. Everything's up to you."

* * * * *

    WarGrowlmon found himself back in the computer network again. Around him, the place looked exactly like the last area of the network he had visisted, with stone paths that looked as if they would crumble away. The Adult-level Digimon looked around him carefully, trying to find the location of the switch. A frown spread across his face. He could see something far away that didn't look like a Program or anything that related to the network. Was that Leomon? If it was, why was he crouched over like that?  
    Well, that didn't matter. He ran across the long path. WarGrowlmon knew that he had to deactivate the trap. There was no room for error. There was only one chance to do it and he would not let Takato down. He would not let anything get in his way.

**_To be continued..._**


	13. Session 12: Owaranai Monogatari

Digimon.EXE 

By Wolf O'Donnell

WARNING! May contain Alternative Universe situations and out-of-character experiences. Upon reading this, you hereby agree that you forfeit all your rights to sue me and that I cannot be held liable for any psychological or physical damage caused by the fact that I use British English spelling and that this fanfic contains graphic acts of a heterosexual and homosexual nature (not applicable to FanFiction.net version), extreme violence and use of swear words. Digimon is copyrighted by Bandai and Toei Animation Ltd. Wolf O'Donnell is copyrighted by Nintendo Ltd, although that might have nothing to do with the fanfic. Constructive criticism is very welcome.

* * * * *

Session 12: Owaranai Monogatari  
    "This is Hypnos's work. It has to be!" exclaimed Ruki.  
    Rena looked all around her. The Sakuyamon could sense that something was wrong. It was as if someone had decided to flood the Digital World. Huge puddles were littered all over the paths and terminals of the Digital World. In some places, the water formed huge rivers that washed Digimon and Programs away.  
"Perhaps," murmured Rena. She wasn't as convinced as her Operator. "It could be the Syndicates."  
    "Get real, why would they want to do that?" asked Ruki.  
    "There it is!" exclaimed Sakuyamon, as she pointed out in front of her.  
    Somewhere out in front was the lost little Program that the civilian had wanted to find. It was being washed along the path, as it struggled to keep its head above the digital water. The Program was crying like a little child that had lost its mother, as it was swept away.  
    With a leap and a bound, Rena rushed over towards the little Program. She could see a dry position where she could save the little Program. All the time she ran along the path, she looked sideways to see where the Program was.  
"Hold on!" she shouted out to the Program. "I'm coming for you!" She turned a corner and then skidded to a halt. Extending her golden staff out, she called for the Program to grab it. "Come on," she muttered under her breath, as the Program was washed towards her.  
    The small thing, fearful for its life, reached out. Its stubby hands grabbed the rings of Sakuyamon's staff and was suddenly lifted out of the water.  
"Thank you!" thanked the little Program as it leapt towards Rena and hugged her.  
    "Easy there," she said calmly. "How'd you get here?"  
    "I was washed away through Phyle," replied the Program. "There's an area underneath PhyleNet that leads here."  
    Rena frowned. She knew about the link between NANet and DarkNet, but didn't know about the PhyleNet connection.  
"There's one in PhyleNet?" she exclaimed.  
    "It's called UnderPhyle."

* * * * *

    The ceiling was closing in on them. Takato looked up and saw that they didn't have much time left for mucking around.  
"WarGrowlmon, are you there yet?" asked Takato. The fear was evident in his voice. "WarGrowlmon?"

* * * * *

    "I'm nearly there," growled WarGrowlmon, as he ran along the stone path. He could see the figure that stood near the switch. It was evidently a lion of some sort but it didn't look like Leomon. "He's digivolved," muttered WarGrowlmon under his breath.  
    The Adult-level SaberLeomon stood on all fours unlike the bipedal Leomon. He had large fangs, making him look even more formidable.  
"So, WarGrowlmon, you've come for me again, have you?" asked SaberLeomon calmly, as he turned to face the fire-type Digimon. "Will you fight me in a Duel this time?"  
    "If you let me deactivate the trap if you lose," retorted WarGrowlmon.  
    "What do you say, Juri?" asked SaberLeomon.  
    For a moment, Juri didn't say a word. It was as if she wasn't listening.  
"Very well," she finally agreed. "I'm sending you the Advances now."  
    Two beams of light, each three by three tiles, shone down on to each of the two Digimon. It created a Duelling Area around them with its traditional red and blue areas. Well, it would have been traditional, had it not been for the weakness of the floor they stood on. The transformation process had cracked the columns of panels on either side of each Digimon, such that the middle six panels of the Duelling Area were the only normal and unaffected ones.  
    WarGrowlmon didn't like that one bit. If he stepped on any of those panels, they would break soon after he stepped off of them. Broken panels couldn't be physically stepped on.  
"That doesn't look good," he stated.  
    "Well, WarGrowlmon, are you ready?" asked SaberLeomon in a friendly manner.  
    The Advances had been sent. WarGrowlmon could feel them.  
"I'm ready," he replied quickly. "Let's do this!" He roared and fired his powerful Atomic Blaster at SaberLeomon. He missed. WarGrowlmon mentally checked the Advances he had. That was it! "DigiModify- Ankylomon's Tail Hammer activate!" he announced. He then rushed to the edge of his area, as his tail began to change into that of Ankylomon's.  
    When WarGrowlmon brought his tail smashing into SaberLeomon's area, all of his cracked panels broke and all of the remaining panels cracked.  
    That didn't seem to phase SaberLeomon, however.  
"DigiModify- Poison Floor activate!" he announced and all the panels within the Duelling Area were suddenly fixed. That was before they suddenly turned purple. Each one of them suddenly gave of a nasty stench and started bubbling. "DigiModify- Repair activate!" The panels on SaberLeomon's side returned to normal. He rushed over to the edge of his area and slashed at WarGrowlmon with his powerful claws.  
    WarGrowlmon staggered backwards in pain. He could feel the poisonous floor sapping away at his strength. There was nothing he could do about it but try and make the fight as short as possible.  
"Takato, I need some repair chips and fast," he called out to his Operator. He fired another Atomic Buster at SaberLeomon, but the feline Digimon merely leapt out of the way.

* * * * *

    "Takato, would you hurry up?" asked Jenrya, as he sat on the floor. Standing was now impossible as the ceiling was far too low to allow him to stand.  
    That was why Takato was kneeling next to the wall, pressing buttons on his D-Scanner frantically.  
"I'm doing the best I can!" he cried. That was, however, not good enough. He knew himself that he needed to do better. However, could he? Takato looked at the holographic screen in front of him. It displayed all the available Modifying Chips that he had installed. "Why is it that these darn D-Scanners always give random Advances!" he shouted frustratedly. "Here, try these for now, boy!"

* * * * *

    The Advances arrived. WarGrowlmon was sadly disappointed with Takato's choice. There was a normal Healing Advance in the batch. That wouldn't do at all.  
"I thought you removed those Modifying Chips from the D-Scanner!" he shouted angrily at Takato.  
    SaberLeomon teleported out of his area and appeared on WarGrowlmon's side.  
    WarGrowlmon stepped out of the way quickly and managed to avoid being cut to ribbons by his opponent. He slashed at SaberLeomon with his axe and managed do a little damage before his opponent teleported back over to the other side.

* * * * *

    "Come on, come on," muttered Takato, as he watched the screen of his D-Scanner. He was now sitting on the ground, the ceiling having advanced quite a bit now.  
    Jenrya noticed that the ceiling was now pushing against the wires of the D-Scanner.  
"Takato, you've got to disconnect the D-Scanner now," he told his friend. "If you don't, the ceiling'll break the connecting wires."  
    "I can't disconnect!" shouted Takato angrily. The gauge filled up. The Advances reapperaed on his screen. "All right!" he cried. "WarGrowlmon, I'm sending you some chips. You've got to use them in the right order, coz I won't be able to help you now. You're on your own!" He selected the chips quickly and then pressed send. Takato quickly pushed his D-Scanner into the hole he had made into the wall and then removed his hand.  
    The ceiling moved down, edging its way past the hole in the wall. If only he could have widened it, they could have escaped. However, that wasn't possible. He could only make a small hole. Now it was all up to WarGrowlmon.

* * * * *

    "Come on, you have to do better than that!" cried SaberLeomon. "I'm over here!"  
    WarGrowlmon suddenly gasped in surprise. Takato had sent him a special advance. That bided him well. The Digimon decided to use it. He stepped on to the middle column and activated the Magline Advance. The entire middle column became a column of magnetic panels that drew any Digimon or virus on either side of it, towards it. The poison panels on either side of him wouldn't affect him unless he stepped on them.  
"Take this!" he roared and he fired an Atomic Blaster.  
    SaberLeomon stepped sideways but was suddenly drawn back to the middle column and straight back into the line of fire. The twin beams of red energy smashed into him, wounding the feline Digimon.  
    "These are pretty good Advances," murmured WarGrowlmon, as he checked the rest of them. "Let's see, which order do I use them in?" he wondered out loud, as he thought about the attacks.  
    This time, SaberLeomon opened his mouth. A powerful tornado that crackled with electricity flew out of his mouth and hurtled along the area towards WarGrowlmon. There was no time to dodge it. SaberLeomon's Howling Crusher smashed into the fire-type Digimon, wounding him and paralysing him.

* * * * *

    By now Takato and Jenrya were lying down on the floor. The ceiling was only ten centimetres away from them. If it advanced any further, it would be touching them. Any further and they'd be crushed.  
    "We're doomed, aren't we?" asked Rapidmon from Jenrya's D-Scanner.  
    "No, we're not," protested Takato in his Digimon's defence. "WarGrowlmon can do it! I've sent him the most powerful Advance Combo I had in my D-Scanner. It's the Hero Shoot Combo and I'm sure that it'll work. As long as WarGrowlmon remembers how to make the combo, we're as good as free."  
    There was a moment's silence.  
    "We're doomed," sighed Rapidmon.  
    "You're right," agreed Takato, after he remembered what WarGrowlmon's memory was like.

* * * * *

    SaberLeomon used the AreaGrab Advance, stealing WarGrowlmon's first front row. He then dashed in, walking along the magnetic line and towards his opponent. With one roar, he then bit down on his dinosaur-like opponent.  
    WarGrowlmon roared out in pain and did his best to shake SaberLeomon off. It was no use! The pain was adding to the confusion! He couldn't remember the combo. He had Armour Punch, Shield and WarGreymon Advances. How were they combined? How could he create the Hero Shoot Combo with them? He couldn't remember! He just couldn't remember!  
"Get off of me!" roared WarGrowlmon and he slashed at SaberLeomon with his axe.  
    With a yowl of pain, SaberLeomon leapt away from his opponent.  
"WarGrowlmon, you're getting very low on health," he informed his opponent. "I suggest that you be more careful with what you do from now on."  


    Carrying the white Program under her arm, Sakuyamon suddenly emerged out of the DarkNet and into... She looked around her.  
"This can't be!" she exclaimed. "It's PhyleNet!"  
    "UnderPhyle," corrected the Program.  
    The area of the Digital World known as UnderPhyle shared the same characteristics of PhyleNet. The floor was made out of what appeared to be large, square neon lights. The ether was orange, not black, with the symbol of flowers in the background.  
    Rena looked up and saw a flight of ramps leading up to higher platforms, each going upwards.  
"So those must lead up to PhyleNet," she stated.  
    "They lead up to Phyle DigiSquare, actually," the Program told Rena.  
    "Phyle DigiSquare," muttered Rena. "So this is how the DarkNet viruses got there." She couldn't understand it. Why had no one noticed this connection between PhyleNet and the DarkNet before? "Something's terribly wrong," she realised out loud. "Someone within Phyle must be hiding something." Could it be that Hypnos HQ was also in Phyle?

* * * * *

    Takato sighed, as he felt the ceiling lower on to him. He never thought that he'd be crushed underneath a ceiling. No. When he had joined the DEVA Organisation, his greatest fear would have been for his Digimon to be deleted.  
"I never thought it would end like this," he sighed, as he lay there on the stone floor. "Why Juri? Of all the people that could have joined Hypnos, why her?"  
    "Don't say you have a crush on her as well," was all that Jenrya could say at that moment. Anything to take his mind off the pressing situation.  
    "No," replied Takato sternly. "It's just, I always liked her... as a friend."  
    Jenrya sighed, closing his eyes.  
"Friends are important," he agreed to the implied statement that Takato said. He sighed again. "You know, I'm glad that I could at least spend these final moments with a friend like you."  
    "Do you miss him?" asked Takato. "Do you miss Ryo?"  
    "Yeah," replied Jenrya sullenly.  
    "Oh, for crying out loud!" exclaimed Rapidmon from Jenrya's D-Scanner. "Don't talk like that! Takato! Don't you have any faith in your Digimon?"  
    Takato remained silent.  
"Sure I do," he replied quietly, "but we've got to be realistic here. What are the chances that WarGrowlmon will be able to defeat SaberLeomon in time?" He sighed. "WarGrowlmon, it was nice knowing you."

* * * * *

    WarGrowlmon dodged the attack by diving forwards. His breath was ragged. His muscles were weak. The Digimon was feeling the side effects of having too low health. If this continued, he'd be deleted and then Takato would be without a saviour. Mentally, he recalled the clock function on the D-Scanner and checked the time. There wasn't much left. The time to defeat SaberLeomon was now.  
    As he dodged SaberLeomon's barrage of attacks, WarGrowlmon arranged the Advances. He had managed to wittle SaberLeomon's health down, but his opponent wasn't in the same poor state he was. What he needed was a powerful combo that would practically wipe SaberLeomon off the face of the Duelling Area.  
    "I don't think you have much time left," warned SaberLeomon. "If you don't do something now, you'll lose your friends. I don't want to see that happen without you at least trying harder."  
    "Why don't you just let me pass?" asked WarGrowlmon angrily. "They're Juri's friends too. Why can't you convince her to stop this?"  
    SaberLeomon shook his head.  
"I can't," he said sadly. "We have to obey Hypnos's orders or else they'll destroy Phyle. I cannot let that happen."  
    Wait a minute! WarGrowlmon remembered the correct order of the Combo! He placed the Shield first, then the Armour Punch, then the WarGreymon advance. The data all merged into one DigiModifying Advance, the Hero Shoot combo!  
"I've got it!" he roared. "DigiModify- Hero Shoot!"  
    Digital data appeared from apparently nowhere and formed into a WarGreymon. This strong WarGreymon then grabbed WarGrowlmon and then hurled the virus-class Digimon across the Duelling Area at lightning speeds.  
    WarGrowlmon placed his arms in front of him, his axe-like blades placed together. He flew straight into SaberLeomon, slicing into the Digimon and tearing him apart. Seconds later, SaberLeomon.EXE was deleted and the Duelling Area had disappeared. The switch was right in front of him. WarGrowlmon rushed forward and slammed it backwards.

* * * * *

    The ceiling stopped. Then there was another grating sound.  
    Takato opened his eyes and lifted his head, nutting himself on the ceiling. He had forgotten about that. 'Wait! It's rising!' he suddenly realised, as he felt the ceiling with his hands.  
"Jenrya, WarGrowlmon did it!" he called out to his friend. "He deactivated the trap!"  
    "That's great, Takato," sighed Jenrya in relief, a smile on his face. "Would you help me up?"  
    "Sure," agreed Takato, as he slid across the floor towards his friend.  


    Juri quickly unplugged her D-Scanner from the port and ran for it. She didn't get very far, however, without bumping into Dr. Oikawa. She gasped in surprise.  
    "So, you're the one behind all this, huh?" was what Dr. Oikawa said, before he cuffed her. "You are under arrest," he told the brown-haired girl, "for aiding and abetting the Hypnos Organisation and for the attempted murder of several Devas."

**_To be continued..._**


	14. Session 13: Encore un Verre

**Digimon.EXE**

**By Wolf O'Donnell**

WARNING! May contain Alternative Universe situations and out-of-character experiences. Upon reading this, you hereby agree that you forfeit all your rights to sue me and that I cannot be held liable for any psychological or physical damage caused by the fact that I use British English spelling and that this fanfic contains graphic acts of a heterosexual and homosexual nature (not applicable to FanFiction.net version), extreme violence and use of swear words. Digimon is copyrighted by Bandai and Toei Animation Ltd. Wolf O'Donnell is copyrighted by Nintendo Ltd, although that might have nothing to do with the fanfic. Constructive criticism is very welcome. This chapter is dedicated to you, Kinu_Uni! Hope you enjoy it!

* * * * *

Session 13: Encore un Verre  
    "Yeah, I'll be fine, dad," said Takato, as he held the D-Scanner up to his ear. "No, it'll be no problem." He waited a while, listening to his father's comments. It had been a few days since the incident at the Forbidden City and he was still stationed with Alice and Jenrya down on Earth. The three of them had been reassigned by Dr. Oikawa to the fishing port of Tokyo to investigate strange disturbances in the Digital World at that section. "Yeah, I won't," he told his father.  
    Jenrya smiled, as he sat at the bar to his right. Takato had his back to Jenrya. That didn't matter. He looked down at the glass in front of him. It was soda with a dash of saccharine flavoured with seaweed and wasabi; the speciality of the house. It wasn't the most pleasant of drinks, but it was the only one that he could afford. He grabbed the glass and took a swift gulp of the drink.  
    "Yeah, bye, dad."  
    "Man, he has you on such a short leash," chuckled Jenrya, "I mistook him for your girlfriend."  
    Takato shot Jenrya a cold glare, before he swivelled back round to face the bar and his drink. Takato's was even worse than Jenrya's- saccharine with clove flavoured water. It was the stuff that usually flavoured the poor excuse for an alcoholic drink known as polynol, which was the replacement for alcohol, which had become incredibly expensive over the years.  
    "I'm sorry," apologised Jenrya after realising that he had hurt Takato's feelings. "I bet you must really miss Ruki, huh?"  
    The taste of Takato's drink nearly made him vomit, but it was the only thing he could afford to quench his thirst. Besides, there wasn't much else to do in Tokyo.  
"Yeah, I miss her," he replied with a nod of his head.  


    "What is taking that little brat so long?" shouted Yamaki angrily, as he paced up and down on the black and white, tiled floor. "He should have it by now!"  
    The brown-haired woman sighed, as she stood there in front of Yamaki, her arms crossed behind her back. 'If he carries on like this, he'll wear a hole through the floor and fall into Space,' she thought to herself. Reiley feared that the old man would end up getting a heart attack. He was stressing over the matter too much. Telling him to calm down would be a big mistake. You do not tell an angry person to calm down or else they'll get even angrier.  
"I'm sure that he'll be able to find the Water Program, sir," she told him. "Kitagawa is a very skilled Digimon Operator. He will be able to find the Program for you."  
    Yamaki stopped in his footsteps to turn and look at her. It looked as if he wanted to say something, but he turned away as if he had thought better of it.  
    "The Water Program will be in our grasp, sir, don't you worry," Reiley assured him. "We shouldn't rush the creation of Juggernaut, after all, it is to be the perfect virus." Yes, she was the only other person within the Hypnos Organisation that knew the true nature of Juggernaut. She knew it not to be a new Digimon but to be a destructive super virus that would wreck the Digital World.  
    "Yes, you're right," sighed Yamaki, as he walked back to his desk and sat down behind it with a heavy groan. "Juggernaut shouldn't be rushed, however, I am getting far too old for all these shenanigans. What if I should die before the completion of my super virus? Who will complete my plans for revenge then?"  
    Reiley felt sorry for the old man.  
"I will carry on your work, sir," she told him.  
    The old man smiled.  


    "Damn thing," growled Jenrya angrily, as he kicked at the jukebox. It wasn't working. Perhaps a virus had infiltrated it. He brought out his D-Scanner and searched the entire surface of the machine for a plug-in point.  
    A frown was on Takato's face, as he sat at the table they had grabbed for themselves. Beside him was Alice with an equally surprised look on her face.  
"Forget it, Jenrya," he called out to his Chinese friend. "It doesn't matter."  
    "No, I'm going to fix this thing and the owners are going to be grateful," said Jenrya through clenched teeth, as he plugged his D-Scanner into the jukebox. "Rapidmon, could you go in and see what's going on?" he asked his Digimon.

* * * * *

    There really wasn't any other choice for Rapidmon. One moment he was inside his D-Scanner, the next he was shoved into a small square. He looked around him. It was the typical 32 by 32 tiled square that signified he was within a closed CPU that wasn't connected to the rest of the Digital World through anything except the electrical wires.  
"Okay, Jenrya," he agreed. "I'll see what's going on."  
    "The dreams I longed for are still not true," sang a voice within the CPU, "There's an answer I need to find. Am I DNA or just data? This question won't leave my mind."  
    Rapidmon frowned. Who was singing? It was then that he noticed two Program floating near the centre of the CPU. The song seemed to be coming from one of the Programs.  
    "Sometimes I wish to surrender," continued the Program, "And give up chasing my beloved dreams." It did a little twirl, as it pranced around. "Your smile makes me remember," sang the Program, "Nothing is really what it seems."  
    A virus suddenly lunged at Rapidmon from out of nowhere. It was a Stomp02 virus. That wasn't good. He quickly leapt backwards, letting the virus smash into the floor. Rapidmon quickly turned round and fired a missile straight at the virus. It exploded and the virus was blasted into several pieces. The virus dropped a Stomp.v2 Advance. Very nice.  
    "With you, my friend, I will find our true destiny," crooned the Program, oblivious to its surroundings. "We will both find out the truth of our reality."  
    Rapidmon flew across the tiled floor towards the two Programs. He feared that they had been infected. Sure, it was commonplace for viruses to appear randomly within all sorts of machines. That was why quite a lot of people connected their D-Scanners to machines, so they could do a little bit of virus busting and get free Advances.  
    "Can this really be our destiny? Can this really be our destiny," sang the Program, "To never know what we are? I hope not. In my eyes you do not see my pain..."  
    "Excuse me!" called out Rapidmon.  
    The Program stopped singing and a frown spread across its face.  
"Huh?" it exclaimed. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"  
    "I just jacked in to see what's going on," explained Rapidmon, as he landed in front of the white Program. "My Operator inserted a few coins into the jukebox and nothing happened. Is this machine broken or something?"  
    The Program next to the one that had been singing glared at the singing Program angrily.  
"You haven't been paying attention to your job again, have you?" it asked the other Program. "I keep telling you to stop singing and pay attention." It turned to Rapidmon. "I'm sorry," it apologised to Rapidmon. "I'm the Program that changes the music. What would you like?"  
    "Well, Kanno Yoko's 'Encore un Verre' would be quite nice," replied the Rapidmon. "That is what you wanted right, Jen?"  
    "That's right," replied Jenrya.  
    "Kanno Yoko's 'Encore un Verre', coming right up," announced the Program.

* * * * *

    From the jukebox came a soft rhythm and then a quiet voice singing in what seemed to be French. Satisfied with the choice, Jenrya unplugged his D-Scanner and then went back over to sit down with Takato.  
    "Finally!" exclaimed Jenrya, as he flopped down on to the leather seats. "I got my money's worth."  
    Alice listened carefully.  
"It is quite a nice number," she stated. "So, Takato, you manage to dredge up anything?" A few seconds later, she realised how inappropriate those words were, especially in a little fishing port like Tokyo.  
    Well, truth be told, it wasn't exactly little. The only thing that made Tokyo a little fishing port, was because of the lack of land there. Being out in the middle of the ocean, thanks to global warming, Tokyo didn't have much to offer in terms of land. For instance, the bar they were in, resided on top of the roof of what had once been a tower block in West Shinjuku. Actually, it was more than a tower block. The bar occupied one of two roofs, since the building it resided on had two towers.  
    "Nothing," was Takato's reply. "It's as if everything's gone all quiet on the Western Front."  
    "Just like my love life," sighed Jenrya.  
    "I take it you haven't found anything either?" asked Takato curiously.  
    Alice shook her head in reply. That was a definite negative.  
"It's as if the Syndicates know something," she sighed. She and Dobermon had jacked into every machine to find any trace of Syndicate wrong doings, even going through AsiaNet, but they had found nothing. "It's as if they've all left town."  
    "Not town, just the Digital World," said Jenrya quietly. "I got into a little fight with some Syndicate cronies." A smile spread across his lips, such that it was almost unnoticeable. "They were peddling some illegal wares out on the streets," he explained to them, "so I told them to beat it." He raised his glass and drained it off its foul seaweed and wasabi flavoured soda. The stuff may have been disgusting, but it surely did give one a warm glow inside. "It seems that the Syndicates have left the Digital World altogether, coz they fear what Hypnos is going to do to it."  
    "Even the Syndicates fear Hypnos and their Operation Juggernaut," sighed Takato. Oikawa had told them everything that Ruki had found out about it. "I wonder what's so special about this Juggernaut virus they're working on?" he wondered out loud, in the hope that someone had an idea.  
    It was a futile hope, as they remained silent. Only the music changed. It had turned into a different number called 'Deeper'. It was another jazz like number, but seemed menacing in its tone.  
    Takato didn't like this one bit. He sighed, as he stood up.  
"I'm going to do a little virus busting," he announced, as he rose from the table. "I'll see you in the morning, okay?" Alice and Jenrya nodded, bidding him goodnight, before he left the bar altogether.  
    The place was far too smoky for his own liking. He stepped out of the bar and breathed deeply. The fresh sea air would do him good. Takato walked over to the edge of the roof and looked down. Though the sea water had claimed many buildings, this building still stood tall. It had two towers and was possibly the tallest tower in West Shinjuku. (Just in case you're wondering, it's the building that appeared in Season Three; the one in which Hypnos operated in and the one that was at the centre of the D-Reaper incident).  
    "Something bothering you?" asked WarGrowlmon. Though he couldn't see what was going on outside, the lid of the D-Scanner was closed, he could still tell that something wasn't quite right with his friend.  
    "It's nothing," replied Takato, as he stood there on the roof, his hands thrust into the pockets of his long trenchcoat. "Say, why don't we go down to that faulty vending machine on Floor A15?" he asked. A stood for Above Water. "I bet there'll be plenty of viruses there. Who knows, there might even be a rare Modify Advance in there."  
    "All right," agreed WarGrowlmon. "Let's go!"  
    Takato turned away from the edge of the roof and walked over to the elevator, his trenchcoat billowing out behind him like some kind of cape.  
"I just can't wait to get my hands on a rare Modify Advance," he told WarGrowlmon. "We'd be able to show Hypnos a thing or two then." He reached out and pressed a button and waited. "Say, would you see if you could get me some real soda for free, while you're at it?"  
    "You mean, steal some?" asked WarGrowlmon.  
    "No, it's not stealing," protested Takato. "It'll be a well-earned soda. The vending machine people will owe me a soda as payment for deleting a couple of viruses from their machine. Yeah, that's it."  
    WarGrowlmon wasn't convinced. It still sounded a bit like stealing to him.  
    The elevator doors opened in front of him to reveal an empty elevator car. Takato looked inside to check that nobody was hiding there and then stepped in.  
"Let's see, where is it?" wondered Takato, as he looked at the row of buttons. "Damn! This is the wrong one!" he cursed angrily.

* * * * *

    Moments later, WarGrowlmon was standing in an area that was approximately 32 by 32 tiles large. He was inside the vending machine. The place looked almost exactly like the inside of the jukebox, but that was possibly because both used the same type of CPU. It was only the Programs that differed.  
"Takato, there's no Programs here," he told his Operator. "It's empty."  
    "Empty?" exclaimed Takato curiously. "That shouldn't be!"  
    "Well, I'm telling you what I see and I see nothing," stated WarGrowlmon, as he stepped cautiously. "It's as if the entire thing's been cleaned out." He heard something and whirled round.  
    A large plant like a venus-fly trap had sprouted up from the ground. It snapped on thin air viciously, before it spat a seed out at WarGrowlmon. That virus was a Snapweed virus and was considered deadly to electric-type Digimon and viruses. However, it was a wood type and fire types were deadly to wood types.  
    WarGrowlmon charged straight at the snapweed virus and slashed at it with his axe-like blades. The thing was sliced in half and broke apart into tiny bits of digital data that floated into the air. A frown spread across WarGrowlmon's face. This one didn't leave behind a datacap. Was it a weak virus?  
"That's strange," he muttered.  
    There was a whooshing sound. A lot of viruses make that noise, so that description really didn't help much. WarGrowlmon immediately turned round and was suddenly hit by a gigantic pastel green coloured fist. It knocked him for six, as the saying goes, and he was suddenly flung to the ground. He looked up and saw what virus it was.  
    The thing looked like a dodecahedron with two fists on chains coming out of two of its sides. The thing seemed to glow with a green aura of sorts. It was one of the most formidable viruses in the known Digital World. They were classified as Barrier viruses, because they had their own forcefield. This was a CyberPrismE virus. The E stood for earth, because it used an EarthBarrier, which was invincible to earth-type attacks and all attacks that didn't deal 200 damage points or over.  
    As he got to his feet, WarGrowlmon realised that he was in big trouble. CyberPrismEs were more powerful than the CyberPrismA virus and the CyberPrismF viruses, which used AquaBarriers and FireBarriers respectively. Even a CyberPrismW would have been better, because their WoodBarriers were highly susceptible to fire-type attacks.  
"Takato, there's a CyberPrismE in here!" he called out to his Operator.  
    "There is?" exclaimed Takato in surprise. "So that's what's going on in there." For a while Takato didn't say anything else. "Don't worry, pal. Their EarthBarriers are weak against mechanical attacks and you're a cyborg!"  
    WarGrowlmon had momentarily forgot that.  
"Okay, pal," he began, but was momentarily interrupted when the CyberPrismE fired a fist at him. He dived out of the way. The fist curved around him and the chain, that the fist was attached to, ensnared his leg. "Let go!" he roared, as he slashed his axe down at the chain.  
    As it was outside of the EarthBarrier, that part of the virus sustained damage.  
    "Take this! Atomic Blaster!" shouted WarGrowlmon, before he fired his twin beams of powerful energy at the CyberPrismE.  
    The EarthBarrier flickered momentarily, before it disappeared and exposed the virus. This was the perfect time.  
    WarGrowlmon leapt to his feet and rushed straight at the virus. He dodged out of the way of the other fist and then lunged straight at the CyberPrismE.

* * * * *

    The lights of the vending machine flickered and then died. There was a clunking sound and a can fell out. Takato reached in and took it out, inspecting its outside.  
"Good going, WarGrowlmon," he commented.  
    "I've got an EarthBarrier Advance!" announced WarGrowlmon proudly.  
    Takato nearly drooled at the possibilities of such a Modifying Advance. That Advance would make his Digimon invincible to all Earth attacks and quite a lot of small time attacks. A grin spread across Takato's face, as he pulled the ring on the can.  
"So, you want to continue or shall we call it a night?" he asked his Digimon friend.  
    "Let's call it a night."  
    "Okay, boy," agreed Takato, as he drank from the can, taking a huge swill of the fizzy contents within. He pulled his D-Scanner out of the machine, unplugging it. "Urgh, there's something really foul about this soda," he commented, as he tossed the can away into a nearby bin. "Must have gone off or something." He shook his head, as he wiped his mouth on the sleeve of his jacket and made his way through the darkened corridor. "Wish they didn't shut the lights off at night," he sighed, as he stumbled through the darkness.

**_To be continued..._**


	15. Session 14: Let's Kick it Up!

Digimon.EXE 

By Wolf O'Donnell

WARNING! May contain Alternative Universe situations and out-of-character experiences. Upon reading this, you hereby agree that you forfeit all your rights to sue me and that I cannot be held liable for any psychological or physical damage caused by the fact that I use British English spelling and that this fanfic contains graphic acts of a heterosexual and homosexual nature (not applicable to FanFiction.net version), extreme violence and use of swear words. Digimon is copyrighted by Bandai and Toei Animation Ltd. Wolf O'Donnell is copyrighted by Nintendo Ltd, although that might have nothing to do with the fanfic. Constructive criticism is very welcome.

* * * * *

Session 14: Let's Kick it Up!  
    Takato snored loudly. It was such a loud snore, the bedside table shook.  
    "Earthquake?" exclaimed WarGrowlmon with a snort, as he woke up from his digital sleep. "Takato! Wake up!" he called out, but to no avail. He listened more carefully, using the D-Scanner's mike and suddenly realised the cause of the shaking. "Man, he's got to do something about that," sighed WarGrowlmon, before turning off the mike and sealing himself off from the sounds of the world.  
    The brown-haired Operator snorted and turned round, hitting his D-Scanner with the back of his hand.  
"Ruki," he mumbled in his sleep. "Ruki... mrph."  
    "He's dreaming of Ruki again?" wondered WarGrowlmon out loud. "Wonder what he's doing with her this time..."

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

    The bus chugged away, as it waited there in front of the traffic lights. They were red and a forcefield prevented the bus from running the red light and over the pedestrians that were crossing the road. On the side of the traffic lights were a set specifically for the pedestrians.  
    At that current moment in time it was showing a green man that in a walking stance. This flashed momentarily, as the forcefield changed. The sign turned into a red man, just as the traffic lights began to turn amber and then green. The bus pulled forward, gliding across the tarmac and then stopping at a bus stop.  
    "Takato, this has got to be the worst idea you've ever had," said Ruki angrily, as she sat at the back of the bus, looking out of the window and at the people at the bus stop. "This bus stops at every stop!"  
    "Well, how was I to know that?" asked Takato with a shrug of his shoulders. He let his arms fall back on to the large brown box that sat in between him and Ruki. "I could have sworn that this was the number 75," he said.  
    Ruki sighed and rolled her eyes. She didn't want to continue arguing with Takato. It wasn't as if the bus wasn't going back to her place, after all. It was just one of those buses that stop more times than the express versions. They'd get back to her house... eventually.  
"Sometimes, Takato, I wonder if you need glasses," she said, as she continued to stare out of the window and away from the brown-haired youth. "How can you read 16 as 75?"  
    Takato turned his head and began to stare at his shoes. He didn't like it when Ruki got into one of her moods. The youth sighed. He liked Ruki, but whenever she got into her moods. 'I like you, Ruki, but how can you I tell you?' he wondered, as he looked at the red head out of the corner of his eyes. He had wanted to tell her that he loved her, but he had never had the courage to.  
    Every attempt had ended in a dry throat and a smothering silence. 'Why can't I tell her how I feel?' wondered Takato, as he turned his gaze back down to the floor.  
"Ruki, I want to tell you something," said Takato quietly, so quietly, in fact, that the words never left his lips. Slowly, he turned his head to look at Ruki. She hadn't heard. "Ruki," he said more loudly.  
    "Huh? What is it?" asked Ruki irritatedly.  
    Silence. There he went again. Why was it that Takato could never tell Ruki what he felt? Did he fear something? 'No, Takato, you've got to go through with this,' he thought to himself. There was no point in him stalling.  
"Ruki, I want to tell you something," stated Takato more sternly. His voice was saturated with confidence, something that had never happened before in his life. "Ruki, I..."  
    He never got to finish his sentence, as the bus suddenly swerved violently, throwing Ruki straight towards Takato.  
    Ruki tried to stop herself, but the swerving of the bus was too forceful. She put out her hand to stop herself, but found it impossible. Not even the box between them had proved any useful in preventing her from crashing into the brown-haired youth. She found her head pressed against him, her hand pressed against his chest.  
    Red was slowly creeping across Takato's cheeks, as a blush formed. Ruki pulled away quickly and turned away from him, a blush creeping across her cheeks as well. The bus suddenly swerved again.  
    "Hey, what's going on up there?" shouted Ruki angrily at the driver. "Are you asleep or something?" she wondered out loud. "Wake up! Wake up!"  
    "Hey, Takato, wake up!"

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

    "Huh?" exclaimed Takato with a snort, as he opened his eyes.  
    "Takato, wake up," called WarGrowlmon from Takato's D-Scanner. "You going to get up or what?"  
    "Yeah," mumbled Takato, as he sat up on the bed and rubbed his tired eyes. Something didn't feel quite right. The bedsheets were on the floor and something felt a little bit too damp.  
    A wet patch was present on Takato's pyjamas. Guess where. The grand prize goes to anyone who guesses below the waist. That's not the only thing that Takato had woken up with. A mild hangover, from the polynol he had drunk last night. He wasn't to know that, however. 'Must have been that bad soda,' Takato had thought at the time. He saw a drop of water drip on to him and looked up. So a leak was responsible for that.  
"What kind of a backwater hotel is this?" shouted Takato angrily.  
    "Morning to you too," chuckled WarGrowlmon, as Takato got up and began changing. "Hey!" cried out WarGrowlmon, as a pair of pyjama pants were thrown on to the D-Scanner.

* * * * *

    "I've already flooded the Digital World, are you and your Digimon in position?" asked the Hypnos Digimon.  
    The mysterious Digimon nodded in reply.  
"Yes, sir," he hissed. "It won't be long before the entire Digital World is frozen and all the Earth Sphere's defence mechanisms along with it." He chuckled evilly. "Shall we commence Operation Cold Snap now, sir?" he asked. There was something about his voice. It sounded cold and even more evil than any of the other Hypnos Digimon before him.  
    "Yes, begin it now," replied the other Hypnos Digimon.  
    "And Mr. Freeze," said another voice that didn't belong to the two Digimon.  
    "Yes?" asked another voice that also didn't belong to the two Digimon.  
    "Destroy anyone who gets in your way."

* * * * *

    There was a violent shudder. Takato stumbled and fell. All around him the place shook violently. The pictures that hung on the walls fell to shatter on the floor. All sorts of things were shaken off their tables and fell to the floor with a crash.  
"What's going on, WarGrowlmon?" he asked his Digimon.  
    "I'm not sure," replied WarGrowlmon.  
    An alarm suddenly wailed through the silence. It sounded like an air raid siren but suddenly it cut out, dying as if it was run on batteries and the batteries had suddenly run out. The earth still shook however and that couldn't have been good for the water that surrounded Tokyo.  
    Takato turned his head and saw a huge wave of water smash against the window. Luckily it was waterproofed. That was whe he heard a ringing tone. It was his D-Scanner. He quickly unflipped its lid and placed it to his ear.  
"Hello?" he greeted. "Jenrya? What's going on?"  


    "Someone's tampered with the Earth's EDPS- Environmental Disaster Protection System," replied Jenrya, as he stood at a window, looking out. "It's a special system that protects against all sorts of natural disasters. I'm not exactly sure how it works, but it depends on the Digital World. Something must be up there." He paused for a while to listen to Takato. "Yeah, I'll be sending MegaGargomon into the Digital World as soon as I can get to the Government Centre."  


    "How do we get there?" asked Takato. He listened. "Okay, I'll find Alice. We'll meet there. Okay. Bye!" He switched off the phone function of his D-Scanner. "You hear that, WarGrowlmon?" he asked his Digimon.  
    "Yep," replied WarGrowlmon. "Seems as if we've got our work cut out for us."  
    Takato had no idea that he'd end up saving an entire planet or at least attempting to save an entire planet. He closed the lid of his D-Scanner, hooking it to his belt.  
"Guess we've got to find Alice, then," he commented, before he darted out of his room.

* * * * *

    Rena thrust the pointed end of her golden staff forward and speared the Frigi1 virus. It looked like a Frigimon without legs. The thing flickered like a faulty hologram before it broke up. Rena took the datacap that it left behind and absorbed it. She gained a snowball Advance, which wasn't very helpful.  
"Ruki, it looks like all the water has frozen up," she called out to her Operator. "There's ice all over the place."  
    "Try and destroy as much as you can," ordered Ruki. "We can't let Hypnos win!"  
    The Sakuyamon nodded.  
"Right," she agreed, before she floated over the ice-covered path. Running over it would have been a mistake. She would have slipped and slided all over the place. That would have been bad in a fight against a virus.  
    Rena was within EuroNet. It was easy for the Sakuyamon to travel through the Digital World to the Networks of other countries, easier for her to do so than for Ruki to travel to a foreign country. The path of EuroNet looked very much like the on in Inphynitio, from which Takato and Ruki came from. The ether, however, had the European symbol floating within it instead of 0s and 1s.  
    A fist suddenly hurtled towards Sakuyamon and the Digimon leapt out of the way. That fist was pastel blue in colour, as was the rest of the virus. It was a CyberPrismA. There were two of them.  
    "Where'd you come from?" asked Rena. That was a futile question, though. Viruses couldn't speak. Also, she knew exactly where the CyberPrismA came from. All CyberPrism viruses came from the DarkNet. "Ruki, I need some fire attacks and fast!" she called out to her Operator. No. That was wrong! She needed electric attacks. "I meant, electric type!" she corrected herself.  
    That was a good idea. Any Digimon or virus that was attacked by an electric-type attack on ice would suffer double damage. Still, Rena knew that she was strong enough to attack the CyberPrismA virus. Its AquaBarrier was the weakest of the Barrier series of Advances. However, it would be a good idea to have a few electric-type attacks just incase.  
    Sakuyamon rushed in and slashed at the two CyberPrismA viruses. The AquaBarrier disappeared instantly. Two fists flew out at her, one from each CyberPrismA. She ducked underneath them, letting them fly overhead. Spinning round, she kicked at the viruses, sending them flying away from her. Rena floated back and raised her hand.  
"Try this on for size!" she told the viruses. "Spirit Strike!" She fired four foxes of elemental energy at the CyberPrismA viruses.  
    Neither could get out of the way in time. Both were split apart by the Sakuyamon's powerful attack.  
    "That's two of them down," commented Rena smugly.  
    Two cold and slimy hands pushed Rena and the Digimon was sent flying to the ground by the force of the push. Those hands belonged to the sludge like virus known as the IceNull3 It was like some creature made out of blue slime, as if someone had tried to make a ghost out of blue slime.  
    "That's another DarkNet virus," stated Sakuyamon, as she got to her feet.  
    Another virus attacked her. This virus threw a sphere at Sakuyamon, which landed at her feet. It created a powerful surge of eletricity that kept her pinned down to her current position, unable to move a single thing. This virus was the Gravi2 virus. It wasn't very powerful, yet the powerful surge it created prevented any Digimon from attacking it. The thing looked like a scorpion on wheels. It revved up and hurtled towards Sakuyamon.  
    "Oh, no you don't! Double Edge!" A Digimon landed on top of the Gravi2 virus. It was red and had metallic armour, and a grey hazard symbol on its chest.  
    Rena frowned.  
"WarGrowlmon!" she exclaimed.  
    "Nice to see you, too," commented Dobermon, as he rushed at the IceNull3. He lunged at it and slashed at it. Dobermon checked the virus's health. It was gradually replenishing its health. "This one's tough," he stated, before he lunged at it again and delivered the final blow.  
    "Mega Barrage!" Several missiles flew through the air and struck an Ice.734 virus that had attempted to sneak up on WarGrowlmon.  
    "Thanks, MegaGargomon," thanked WarGrowlmon, as he waved an armoured arm at Jenrya's Digimon. "So, how've you been keeping, Rena?" asked WarGrowlmon, as he stood with his back to her, looking around him for any other viruses.  
    A smile spread across the Sakuyamon's face.  
"I'm fine," she replied. "So, it looks as if you've guys have done well." She smiled at WarGrowlmon. It seemed to her that he had managed to digivolve.  
    "Nice new look, by the way," commented MegaGargomon, as he looked around him. Unlike in the Anime, this MegaGargomon was only double the size of WarGrowlmon, whom was the same size as Sakuyamon. The person that had designed Digimon, couldn't make them too large, however, otherwise they wouldn't be able to be transmitted through the Digital World quick enough to be of any use. Thus MegaGargomon, set the size limit of all large Digimon. No Digimon was to be larger than a MegaGargomon. Likewise, no Digimon was allowed to be smaller than a Pichimon, a Gomamon's new born level.  
    Dobermon lunged straight at another Ice.734 virus, which looked like an icecube, and tore at it.  
"So, got any info on what's going on?" he asked Rena, after absorbing the virus's datacap. He noticed that it had merely gave him an Icecube Advance, which did nothing but place an Icecube in front of the Digimon. "You any idea why all this ice has appeared all over the Digital World?"  
    "No idea," replied Rena with a shake of her head, as the surge began to dissipate. "I've looked all over the Digital World for clues. I've been to AfriNet, ArabNet, even NANet and still I've got nothing."  
    A frown spread across Dobermon's face upon hearing what Rena had said.  
"Even NANet?" he exclaimed in disbelief. "The Digimon at NANet have an eye on everything. You know how paranoid they are over there, what with Hypnos concentrating its attacks on NANet." He saw a wave of more viruses coming towards them. There were a huge number of viruses, each one of them accompanied by other viruses that would make their weak attacks stronger. "There's far too many of them," he stated. "We've got to fall back."  
    "We can't do that," argued MegaGargomon. "We have to stay and fight."  
    Rena grabbed MegaGargomon by the arm and pulled him aside.  
"Are you nuts?" she shouted at him. "This is a mission to unfreeze the Digital World and save the Earth Sphere!"  
    "She's right," agreed Jenrya. "You guys have got to retreat."  
    "If we retreat now, we won't be able to get back in," protested MegaGargomon. "Can you see how many viruses there are here now? If we leave, they'll multiply and soon..."  
    "He's got a point," stated Takato. "Is there anywhere else you guys can go to? Somewhere safe?"  
    "How about the DarkSquare?" suggested Ruki.  
    "Are you nuts? I said, somewhere safe!" shouted Takato.  
    Rena didn't like that tone of voice.  
"It's safe," she said on her Operator's behalf. "As long as we don't get into any fights with the local Digimon, we'll be just fine." She turned round. "Come on, I'll lead you there," she told him. "I know how to get there from here." Sakuyamon floated down the path. She stopped to turn and look at them. Just as she had suspected. They were still standing there like statues. "Come on!" she called out. "You guys have got to trust me. Look, there's no other option. Do you trust me or not?"  
    "I trust you," said WarGrowlmon after much silence. "Lead the way."  
    "WarGrowlmon, are you sure we should go?" asked MegaGargomon.  
    WarGrowlmon turned to face his green friend. He could see the viruses behind him, advancing towards them. There didn't seem to be any other choice. Besides, he didn't want his childhood friend to be deleted.  
"MegaGargomon," he said, "we can trust her. We've known her ever since she was at Child level. How can't we trust her? She's a friend and she would never lead us wrong."  
    Jenrya's Digimon smiled.  
"It seems like almost yesterday when you were talking like a child, but now look at you," he chuckled. "Becoming a Deva has really made you grow up." He remained silent. "Okay, let's go! Let's go to the DarkSquare!"

* * * * *

    "Now the Digital World's frozen up, communications are incredibly poor," the Official told Jenrya. "The message from your father was a bit fuzzy, but Dr. Lee did say something about a DarkNet Digimon called Datamon."  
    "Is he behind all this?" asked Jenrya, as he leaned against the desk.  
    The Tokyo Official shook his head in reply.  
"No, your father hasn't been able to find out whom is responsible for all this," replied the Official with a sigh. "It's undoubtedly Hypnos though. No, this Datamon is said to be able to provide cures for anything."  
    Jenrya understood now. His father had obviously sent an e-mail to tell them about Datamon. Perhaps his father thought that this Datamon could help them unfreeze the entire Digital World.  
"Where can we find him?" asked Jenrya calmly.  
    From a nearby computer terminal, Takato listened. He took his attention away from the computer screen, which showed him his Digimon's progress through EuroNet. He heard the Official utter one name- DarkSquare.  
"That's great!" exclaimed Takato. "Our Digimon are going to DarkSquare right now!"  
    "Really? Is that such a good idea?" asked another Official.  
    "Don't worry, our Digimon can handle it," stated Alice from a computer terminal next to Takato's.  
    The room suddenly shook violently again. It wasn't a very long earthquake and nor was it very powerful, yet it frightened them all very much. It especially frightened the Officials. They knew that having been suppressed for so long, a gigantic earthquake could hit their area very soon. It was all a matter of time. That gigantic earthquake could destroy Tokyo completely and even devestate the mainland of Asia.  
    "I just hope we can get the Digital World back online," prayed one Official. "If not, we'll be doomed for sure."  
    Takato banged his fist on the table angrily.  
"I don't understand it!" he cried out. Whether his exclamation was inspired by fear or not was a mystery that only Takato himself could solve. "What does Hypnos hope to gain through freezing the Digital World? What are they up to?"  


    "Have you got the program yet?" asked the Hypnos agent. "Well?"  
    "Not yet, sir," replied his Digimon. "It's getting a bit difficult, especially with all this ice around."  
    The Hypnos Agent grimaced. His own plan was back-firing in his own face. This was not how it was supposed to happen. That Mr. Freeze was going overboard and he didn't like that one bit. Of course, that didn't matter at that current moment in time. What did matter was that they finished the Juggernaut Project. He'd deal with Mr. Freeze afterwards, when he became one of the Rulers of the Earth Sphere.  
"Well, see to it that you do your best," stated the Hypnos Agent. "Given the circumstances, however, I expect to you to at least get through to the Program in about five hour's time. Do you think that you can do it?"   
    "Yes, sir," replied the Digimon. "I won't fail you, sir."  
    "I know you won't."

**_To be continued..._**


	16. Session 15: Deeper

**Digimon.EXE**

**By Wolf O'Donnell**

WARNING! May contain Alternative Universe situations and out-of-character experiences. Upon reading this, you hereby agree that you forfeit all your rights to sue me and that I cannot be held liable for any psychological or physical damage caused by the fact that I use British English spelling and that this fanfic contains graphic acts of a heterosexual and homosexual nature (not applicable to FanFiction.net version), extreme violence and use of swear words. Digimon is copyrighted by Bandai and Toei Animation Ltd. Wolf O'Donnell is copyrighted by Nintendo Ltd, although that might have nothing to do with the fanfic. Constructive criticism is very welcome.

* * * * *

Session 15: Deeper  
    "So this is what the DarkNet looks like," murmured WarGrowlmon, as he looked around himself. "It's scary." He couldn't help but notice the dead trees that lined the black paths at certain intervals, and the static within the background of the ether. The entire DarkNet resembled a dead wasteland, as if the viruses that constantly plauged DarkNet had ravaged the place. "Who'd want to live here?" he wondered out loud.  
    "Digital scumbags, viruses, that kind of crowd," was MegaGargomon's reply. The MegaGargomon knew full well that no Digimon in his or her right mind would venture into the DarkNet.  
    Sakuyamon's eyes narrowed underneath her golden helmet as she thought of what kind of Digimon she had met in the Digital World.  
"There's also Beelzemon," she added. The Digimon could still remember seeing Beelzemon. "I met him once down in DarkNet 4. He seemed to glow with an evil aura."  
    "Wow, you met Beelzemon and survived?" exclaimed MegaGargomon in surprise. "I'm impressed." He had heard that nobody had ever met Beelzemon and survived to tell the tale. All Digimon had been deleted by that powerful Mega level Digimon.  
    "Is this true, Ruki?" asked Takato curiously. "You fought against Beelzemon and survived?"  
    "Well, we didn't actually fight him," began Ruki.  
    Takato laughed at her comment.  
"Well, of course not," he exclaimed. "No one can fight Beelzemon and survive." He sighed. "Must have been quite scary," he commented. "You and your Digimon are so brave to come down here."  
    "Forget it, bandana-boy," stated Ruki sternly. "You're not getting any."  
    A frown appeared on Dobermon's face.  
"What was that all about?" he asked WarGrowlmon.  
    "Not sure," replied the fire-type Digimon with a shrug of his shoulders. Perhaps it had something to do with that night Takato took Ruki to the movies. They had come back dripping wet, coz Takato had forgotten to check Inphynitio's Weather Control Agency's weather report.  
    Dobermon grinned.  
"Sounds like they're an item," he chuckled.  
    A bubble suddenly bounced along the ice-covered path. It hit WarGrowlmon and exploded, bathing him in wet bubbles and making him cry out in pain. That bubble came from a Fish.3584.B and a Fish6.3584.D virus. The two looked just like fish with small peashooters sticking out of their mouths. The Fish.3584.B was green, while the Fish6.3584.D was red.  
    "Viruses!" exclaimed MegaGargomon. He launched his Mega Barrage attack against the two viruses. The missiles of his curved through the air and smashed into the floor in front of the two water-type viruses. The explosion tore both apart, leaving two datacaps behind. "I don't believe that those viruses were so easy to beat."  
    "WarGrowlmon, you okay?" asked Takato.  
    WarGrowlmon was still in a bit of pain from the viral attack. His breathing was slightly ragged, but he was recovering slowly.  
"I'm fine, thanks," he replied to Takato's question.  
    "More viruses are coming our way," stated Rena, as she got into a fighting stance.  
    They were Penguin.261 viruses. Each one of them looked like penguins that floated in the air on the stomachs. Their wings stuck out like that of an aeroplane and each one had a machine gun attached to it. There were three of these Penguin.261 viruses and each one of them flew towards the four Digimon. The Penguin.261 started firing at the Digimon furiously and the air was suddenly filled with tiny bubbles of water.  
    Dobermon dodged the bubbles and lunged at a Penguin.261. He snapped at its wings with his mouth and grabbed it in his jaws. Like a dog, he began flinging the Penguin.261 around, shaking it violently until the wing snapped off and the virus was sent flying into the floor.  
    A Penguin.261 dived straight into Dobermon and crashed into the Digimon, sending him flying sideways.  
    Rena raised an arm and created a sphere of pink petals around her.  
"Guys, get in here quick!" she called out to the others, upon seeing more viruses coming their way. "You'll be safe within my Crystal Sphere!"  
    WarGrowlmon didn't need to be told twice. Being a fire-type, he was susceptible to the water-type Digimon all around him.  
"Takato, we really need some electric-type Advances!" he called out to his friend. He knew that electric-type attacks were the best against water-type Digimon and viruses.  
    "Okay, boy, I'm sending them right now!" called out Takato. "Here, try this one! DigiModify- Elecball activate!"  
    A yellow sphere appared in WarGrowlmon's hands.  
"Elecball, I don't remember getting one of those!" exclaimed the Digimon.  
    "I borrowed it from my dad's Modify Chip shop," stated Takato. "Just throw it."  
    "Okay," sighed WarGrowlmon, before he lobbed it at the oncoming viruses. It bounced like a beachball before it hit a Penguin.261. The Elecball exploded, unleashing a burst of paralysing electricity. "That's not bad," he commented, but he realised that the Elecball wasn't powerful enough. "Atomic Blaster!" he roared, before firing powerful twin beams of atomic energy at the incoming viruses.  
    "Good one," commented MegaGargomon. "Gargo Missiles!" He fired two large missiles at the water-type viruses.  
    Rena looked sideways. She could see the portal that would lead them straight to the DarkSquare. If only they could reach it. She raised her hand and unleashed her Spirit Strike attack against the incoming viruses. Her attack didn't seem to do much. The Sakuyamon rushed in and swung her staff at the Penguin.261 viruses, smashing them open and absorbing their datacaps.  
    "Here, use this!" called out Jenrya. "DigiModify- Elecmon's Super Thunder Strike activate!"  
    MegaGargomon smiled.  
"That'll do the trick," he commented. "Super Thunder Strike!" He fired a potent beam of electrical energy at the viruses, wiping them all out in one go and leaving a path full of datacaps. "Help yourselves, guys," he stated, as he gestured towards the glistening data capsules.  
    "That's very nice of you," thanked Rena, as she floated over and absorbed a handful of datacaps and downloading their Modify data. She waited a while, watching as every Digimon absorbed a datacap each. Rena noticed that there were a lot of datacaps left over. There were a lot of viruses and they had destroyed quite a lot of viruses, together. "We make a good team," she said.  
    WarGrowlmon nodded in agreement.  
"Yeah, we do," he agreed, after finishing loading up the datacaps. He had acquired quite a lot of Modify Advances that he already had. Perhaps he could pawn them off in the automatic Advance Traders at the shop Takato's dad owned.  
    "Aw man, we already have these!" whined MegaGargomon, as he inspected his Advances. He sighed. "It's a shame we can't sell Advances."  
    "Well, I guess we could if we were in the DarkSquare," laughed Rena.  
    "No, you won't!" protested Jenrya on the other side of the screen. "You're Devas and you've got to set an example to the people."  
    "Jenrya's right," agreed Takato. "You need a licence in order to sell Advances."  
    The portal to the DarkSquare's entrance was enticingly close. Rena could practically feel its presence.  
"We'd better get out of the DarkNet and into the DarkSquare," she suggested sternly. "There's no more time to lose." She floated ahead of them and turned right. "Come on," she called out to the others, "we're nearly there!" She flew along the path and straight towards a platform on which was a yellow glowing circle in the middle. "What are you waiting for?" she shouted at them. "Come on!"  
    "Okay," called out WarGrowlmon, before he ran after her, trying his best to not slip across the ice.  
    Seeing WarGrowlmon go after her, the other two Digimon followed suit.  
    "Are you sure this is safe?" asked MegaGargomon. It was a strange question for a Digimon that lived on the wild side of things. Wherever there was a fight, the other Digimon would have known that MegaGargomon would have been somewhere at the bottom of it. "I mean, this is the DarkSquare we're talking about."  
    Jenrya laughed at his Digimon's question.  
"Come on, MegaGargomon, don't tell me you're frightened already?" he asked MegaGargomon. "You've been to the DarkNet several times before. The DarkSquare can't be that much worse, now can it?"  
    "I guess not," sighed MegaGargomon.  
    "That's the spirit!"  
    "Rena, lead the way," called out Dobermon.  
    "Of course," said Rena, before she floated over the portal and then disappeared.  
    The other Digimon looked at each other as if looking for the answers to their unasked questions. They then looked at the portal. With a deep breath, they walked into the portal one by one and were all taken away by the portal to the notorious, legendary DarkSquare.

* * * * *

    "So this is the DarkSquare," muttered Jenrya, as he looked at his computer screen. It showed him an isometric view of his Digimon from above and of MegaGargomon's surroundings.  
    The DarkSquare was shaped like a phoenix drawn only with straight lines. The floor was made out of black tiles specked with red and it seemed to float in a mass of blackness filled with white static, and scrawled all over the place was graffiti of all sorts of different fluorescent colours. On the right wing were a couple of stands where a few Digimon stood, selling their wares. At the head was a house-shaped door, which probably led to the DarkSquare Message Boards. On the left wing was a portal and surrounding it were the four Digimon that belonged to Alice, Jenrya, Ruki and Takato.  
    However, Jenrya couldn't see that. The view that the Officials's computer screen gave him was only of a part of the DarkSquare, not enough to see the door nor the stands.  
"Okay, guys, I want you to split off into groups of two," he commanded. "Datamon is somewhere there. Ask around if you have to."

* * * * *

    It was a strange music that sounded like a cross between Gangster rap, hip hop and R&B. Where this music came from was another question altogether. The Digimon that used the DarkSquare, didn't seem to pay much attention to where it came from. They just listened to it like any living creature would listen to music, and they seemed to like the music as well.  
    However, the music seemed to make WarGrowlmon nervous. He didn't like that sort of stuff. He was more into JPop and Indie, just like Takato. That was besides the point. The music sounded rather menacing to him and menacing music always made him nervous, especially after Takato accidentally put WarGrowlmon into the middle of a Resident Evil game.  
"Excuse me," he began, but he sounded rather quiet, possibly because of his nervousness. The SkullMeramon he had approached didn't even acnkowledge him. "Excuse me," he called out more loudly.  
    Rena sighed. She had paired off with WarGrowlmon, a possible representation of the relationship between Ruki and Takato. WarGrowlmon had spoken loud enough for anyone to hear. She knew the SkullMeramon was actively ignoring them. 'Well, if he wants to play hardball, so be it,' she thought.  
"Excuse me," growled Rena, as she grabbed the SkullMeramon by his neck and lifted him off the floor. "My partner and I were looking for someone by the name of Datamon. You wouldn't happen to know where he is, do you?"  
    "Why should I tell you, foxy?" asked the SkullMeramon angrily, as he struggled to break free from Rena's grasp. "I only rap with those that I like and, you, I don't like you. Now let go, before I show you what I do to punks like you!"  
    Rena raised glared at him coldly.  
"Please co-operate or else," she warned him. There was something in her tone of voice that seemed very threatening. When Sakuyamon wanted something from DarkNet, she'd get it. "Now!"  
    The SkullMeramon felt incredibly threatened. Yet, he knew that was she was at a higher level than he was. If he fought her, there was a high likelihood of him getting beaten into a digital pulp.  
"Sure, I'll tell you," he blurted out quickly. "I like you. You've got balls and I like that in a Digimon."  
    "Yeah, and if you don't start talking now, I'll rip yours off," threatened Rena seriously.  
    "Datamon usually hangs out at the Message Boards," stuttered the SkullMeramon. "In fact, he's right there now."  
    A smile spread across Rena's face, as she let go of SkullMeramon.  
"Thank you," she thanked, although it sounded incredibly insincere. "Come on, WarGrowlmon," she called out to Takato's Digimon, before she floated past the SkullMeramon as if he didn't exist.  
    WarGrowlmon followed Rena like a dog on a leash, which was almost how Takato acts around Ruki coincidentally. Out of the corner of WarGrowlmon's eye, he caught sight of the stands. Another Digimon had appeared and was setting up a third stand.  
"Say, could we go see what's at those stands?" asked WarGrowlmon. He was curious about what those Digimon were selling.  
    "They're just selling Modify Advances," stated Rena calmly. "I bet they're all stolen Advances too, but there's no way to prove it." She turned round and noticed that WarGrowlmon had stopped walking. "Come on," she called out to him and floated back over. She grabbed him by the arm and the pulled him along the DarkSquare behind her. "This is no time to be shopping, especially in the DarkSquare!"  
    Rena dragged WarGrowlmon through the door and appeared on the other side in the Message Board area. Like the rest of the DarkSquare, fluorescent graffiti covered the floors and hovered in place where the walls of the room were supposed to be. However, none seemed to cover the two lone Message Boards on the far side of the wall, which no one was using.  
"That lying bastard! Wait till I get my hands on him!" she cried out angrily, when she noticed that not only was no one using the boards, but there was no else in the area at all. "I'll delete him!"  
    "Wait!" called out WarGrowlmon. "Can you hear that?"  
    For a while, Sakuyamon didn't say a thing.  
"Yeah, I hear it," replied Rena with a nod of her head. It sounded a lot like typing. Someone was typing furiously. "Where is it coming from?" asked Rena. "I can't see anyone here. Ruki, could you call for the others?"  
    "Sure thing, Rena," replied Ruki.  
    WarGrowlmon advanced towards the boards. He looked at them. Some of them had some incredibly good information, like the one which talked about a Digimon by the name of Beelzemon. There was even a tip on how to defeat the HardHead viruses.  
"Say, I think it's coming from behind these boards," called out WarGrowlmon. He reached over and tried moving the board and it didn't budge. "Perhaps it's the other one."  
    Rena floated over and tore the other one off to reveal another doorway behind it.  
"You're right," she commented. "Ruki, tell the others that we've gone through the doorway in the Message Board area!" Slowly and cautiously, she peered in through the doorway. She could see a path that led to some CPU somewhere. "WarGrowlmon, you stay here and wait for the back-up," she commanded. "I'm going in."  
    "Rena, I don't think you should..." protested WarGrowlmon, but it was far too late. He watched as Sakuyamon disappeared through the doorway. The Ultimate level Digimon sighed.  
    The path that Rena floated along was narrow. All around her was the static that was the background of the DarkNet. She could see nothing else. It was only her, the path and the static. 'I wonder where this leads to?' thought Rena, as she continued down the path. The typing sound was coming from somewhere down the path. It was then that the path ended.  
    The path led to a house-shaped door frame. Going through it, she found herself standing on a platform that floated in the middle of the static. Unlike the DarkSquare, this place had no graffiti. It was clean and the music was of a classical nature instead of the gangster rap that filled the DarkSquare. The terminal seemed as if it would hold only ten Digimon, and that was if they were squeezed in there and vacuum packed. It was decidedly small, almost like the lone Digimon that occupied the terminal.  
    Rena saw that the Digimon had a glass dome for a head and was a mechanical-type. She floated over towards the Digimon and cleared her throat in order to get its attention.  
"Datamon, I presume?" she asked.

**_To be continued..._**


	17. Session 16: Itsumo Aeru Kara

Digimon.EXE 

By Wolf O'Donnell

WARNING! May contain Alternative Universe situations and out-of-character experiences. Upon reading this, you hereby agree that you forfeit all your rights to sue me and that I cannot be held liable for any psychological or physical damage caused by the fact that I use British English spelling and that this fanfic contains graphic acts of a heterosexual and homosexual nature (not applicable to FanFiction.net version), extreme violence and use of swear words. Digimon is copyrighted by Bandai and Toei Animation Ltd. Wolf O'Donnell is copyrighted by Nintendo Ltd, although that might have nothing to do with the fanfic. Constructive criticism is very welcome.

* * * * *

Session 16: Itsumo Aeru Kara  
    "Who are you? How'd you find me here?" asked the Datamon with a curious expression on his face. If this Digimon was anything to go by, she seemed pretty dangerous to him. It wasn't everyday that he bumped into tall, blonde, armoured Digimon. "Say, aren't you the Digimon that's been causing trouble all over the DarkNet?" asked Datamon curiously.  
    A smile spread across Rena's face.  
"So, you've heard about me, have you?" she stated. The smile on her face could have sent shivers down an cold, ice-subtype Digimon. "What have you heard?"  
    The smile on Datamon's face was just as unnerving. It was a smug smile that suggested that the Digimon had something under his sleeve.  
"I've heard you've been asking around about Hypnos quite a lot," replied the Datamon, as he twiddled his metallic fingers. "So, what did you want to find me for? I suppose you want my help? Do you want information?"  
    "I want a cure," replied Rena sternly. "You know that the Digital World's been frozen lately? I want you to create a program that can get rid of the ice."  
    Datamon laughed at Rena's request.  
"You want me to create a program in order to help you Devas?" asked Datamon. "What's the matter? Can't you handle this problem?"  
    Rena's patience was wearing thin. She grabbed Datamon by his domed head and lifted him off the floor and up into the air.  
"Look here, I'm not asking you to do this, scumbag," she told the DarkNet Digimon. "I am ordering you to create a cure for the ice. If you don't, you won't have an Operator." She looked the Datamon square in the eye. "If Hypnos gets their way, you'll be deleted as well, but if I don't get my way, you'll be deleted long before they get their chance."  
    "I'll do my best!" cried Datamon, as he wriggled about in her grasp like a worm. "Just, please, put me down!"

* * * * *

    "Have you made any progress on the Digital World?" asked Dr. Lee, as he walked up to Ruki's desk.  
    The auburn-haired girl shook her head solemnly in response. She wished she had made some progress, but the entire situation seemed almost hopeless.  
"I'm afraid not, Dr. Lee," she told Jenrya's father. "It seems hopeless. We've located Datamon, but whether he can create a cure or not..."  
    "We've got a more pressing situation on our hands," stated Dr. Lee, as he pressed a button on his own D-Scanner. A holographic screen appeared above it and he lowered it down so that Ruki could get a look. "See this?" he asked her.  
    Ruki's eyes widened. It was a news article on Phyle. Apparently, strange high levels of electromagnetic radiation was being emitted from the Central Phyle Area. Communications were down because of the electromagnetic radiation and citizens were being forced to flee because of the health risks.  
"What is going on there?" she wondered out loud.  
    "I have no idea myself, but I'm sure that Hypnos has something to do with it," replied Dr. Lee. It seemed to him that Hypnos was launching an all out attack on the entire Earth Sphere.  
    "Hypnos's attacks have been getting more vicious lately," agreed Ruki. "It's as if they want some kind of all out war against the nations of the Earth Sphere."  
    Dr. Lee agreed with her. The situation was getting more desperate. Hypnos was raising the stakes and if they carried on the way they were going, all the nations would suffer.  
"I think they're hoping that the individuals nations of the Earth Sphere would fold under their onslaught," he suggested to Ruki. "Transfer the entire project of unfreezing the Digital World to Jenrya and then go to Central Phyle."  
    "But sir, the EM radiation!" protested Ruki.  
    "That's why I've designed a special suit to protect you against the magnetic radiation," Dr. Lee told her. "I want you to go in and find out what's going on. Don't worry, you will be accompanied by a couple of Officials and Devas."  
    Ruki looked at her computer screen and began to wonder. Would they all be all right? Was there any way they could survive Hypnos's powerful offensive?  
"When do I leave?" she asked Dr. Lee.  
    "As soon as possible," he replied.

* * * * *

    Rena heard footsteps. She turned round and braced herself, ready for any ambush whether it be from Digimon or from virus. Every digital muscle within her digital body was tensed, ready to leap in and attack. All that tension was for nothing, however, as she saw her friends run through the doorway and on to the terminal. She relaxed.  
"It's about time you got here," she told them, as she crossed her arms.  
    "We're sorry we're late," apologised MegaGargomon, "but we had to deal with a real troublesome Digimon that was dealing without a licence."  
    Ruki's Digimon sighed. As usual, they were going for the small fry when there were much bigger fish out there.  
"I've got to get going," she informed them. "Ruki needs me with her to investigate some strange goings on at Phyle." She knew what they were going to ask, so she told them about the electromagnetic radiation before they could even ask.  
    "Who's that?" asked WarGrowlmon, as he pointed towards the Digimon next to her.  
    Datamon turned round with an insulted look on his face. He had gotten the impression from the Sakuyamon that the Devas were looking for him.  
"I'm Datamon, you blithering idiot," replied Datamon angrily.  
    "Hey, watch who you're calling an idiot, pal," warned Jenrya's Digimon threateningly.  
    Rena quickly floated in between the Digimon, knowing that if someone didn't intervene, one of the Digimon would be black and blue all over. Of course, if Rena had her way, it would have been both Datamon and MegaGargomon.  
"Stop it now," she told MegaGargomon. "Datamon's currently working on a cure. Once he's done, I'm jacking out."  
    "Do you have to?" asked WarGrowlmon.  
    "Yes, I do," replied Sakuyamon with a nod of her head. She then turned to glare coldly at Datamon, which made him turn round quickly and get back to work. "That's better," she told Datamon, before turning back round to face her friends. "If he gives you a hard time after he leaves, just knock him about." A smile spread across Rena's face upon saying those words.  
    "There all done!" exclaimed Datamon with a sigh of relief. He looked in front of him and saw the data packet that floated in front of him. "If you use this where the ice all originated from, you'll be able to unfreeze the entire Digital World," he announced, as he gestured towards the glowing data packet.  
    "Easier said than done," sighed MegaGargomon, when he realised that they didn't know where the ice had all originated from.  


    The Hypnos Digimon floated back with a startled look on its face. The alarm had gone off. He looked around him and saw that he was suddenly surrounded by Digimon. It was safe to say that they were all Devas or at least Officials.  
"Help!" he called out.  
    "You idiot!" shouted a voice angrily. "Next time be more careful!"  
    "Sorry!"  
    "Don't you worry," sighed the voice. "I've got an Advance that'll wipe them out for sure. You just carry on."

* * * * *

    Jenrya's D-Scanner began beeping. It wasn't a phone call. It was an e-mail. The blue-haired Deva reached out and pressed a button, creating a holographic screen above his D-Scanner. On it was a selection of e-mails and the ones with a glowing, orange symbol next to them were all new. One of them, however, gained his attention more than the others. The e-mail's title was red, stating that it was an urgent one.  
    "Jen, is something wrong?" asked Takato, as he rose from his seat and left his computer terminal.  
    For a while, the blue-haired youth didn't reply. His eyes were focused mainly on the main body of text that made up the e-mail.  
"It's from Dad," muttered Jenrya under his breath. "MegaGargomon, jack out!" he ordered. "We've got to go."  
    "Jenrya, what's going on?" asked Takato more insistently.  
    "I'm sorry, Takato, Alice, but I've got things to attend to," replied Jenrya, as he unplugged his D-Scanner. "I'll see you around, though, okay?"  
    The speed at which Jenrya left suggested all sorts of things to Takato. Some of those things were bad. He felt his stomach sink at the prospect of what his best friend could have been called out for.  
"Yeah, I'll see you," he said quietly.  
    "Alice, Datamon's found out where the ice has come from!" announced Dobermon from the computer in which Alice's D-Scanner was plugged into. "We've got to get to Phyle DigiSquare!"

* * * * *

    Dark. It was pitch black. Icicles pointed upwards from the floor. They outlined a pathway that led towards a throne made out of ice. In this throne sat a white Digimon with large, white and tattered wings. The Digimon had white horns and blood red eyes that seemed to glow demonically. With the exception of the black belts he wore around his arms and legs like arm and leg bands, he was completely white, especially his pointed fangs.  
    "IceDevimon, I've just received word from an informant in the DarkSquare," announced a voice. "Some Devas are coming this way. Do you think you can handle them?"  
    A toothy smile spread across IceDevimon's face.  
"Those Devas are no match for me," replied IceDevimon with a clap of his hands. Light shone into the area, to reveal the iced terminal he stood on and the Hypnos symbol floating in the background. "After all, I managed to freeze their friends, didn't I?" he laughed, as he gestured towarsd the icicles in which resided frozen Digimon.

* * * * *

    "There, the firewall's down," sighed Alice. "Wait a minute!" She typed in a few commands. Alice had discovered that if you type in a certain few commands, you could override the D-Scanner's default view of the Digital World and zoom in and out. "Phyle DigiSquare is shaped like a skull," she stated.  
    Takato had always wondered why there were two holes within the floor of the DigiSquare. Now he knew. It was not obvious at first, since the skull was presented sideways. Now he noticed the small projections on the east end of the DigiSquare and the platform to the east of the DigiSquare made the shape of the skull's teeth and lower jaw. The only reason no one had noticed it before, was because the firewall blocked all entrance to the eastern part of the DigiSquare, where one could have clearly seen the jaw-shape of the skull.  
    So, this confirmed it. Hypnos's Headquarters were located in Phyle and the shops at Phyle DigiSquare, which sold rare Advances and rare programs, funded the terrorist organisation. Takato felt like a fool.  
"Well, I guess this really is the end," he stated. "The end of Hypnos! Go, WarGrowlmon! I know you can show those Hypnos scumbags what you can really do!"

* * * * *

    WarGrowlmon nodded in acknowledgement.  
"Roger," he replied, before he turned to face the house-shaped door at the end of the terminal in front of him. It undoubtedly led towards Hypnos's Server. "Let's go!" he roared, as he charged along the path and through the doorway.  
    The Hypnos Server wasn't quite what WarGrowlmon expected. The path in front of him wound snaked out in front of him and it was completely covered in ice. The Hypnos symbol, three circles connected to each other by three lines (imagine the Yuggoth symbol), floated in the background, which was completely white. At the far end, was a wide and long terminal with icicles lining its side.  
    "A Digimon," growled WarGrowlmon, as he saw the white Digimon at the throne at the farend of the terminal. Did that Digimon belong to Hypnos's Leader? Well, there was one way to find out.  
    "Wait up!" called Dobermon, but WarGrowlmon didn't listen.  
    WarGrowlmon was too busy running across the slippery ice. He had completely forgotten that the IceDevimon at the end of the terminal was classified as a water-type, ice-subtype Digimon. Those types of Digimon could defeat him quickly, what with him being a fire-type and all.  
    "So, you're the Deva Digimon, are you?" hissed a voice that seemed to echo all around WarGrowlmon. "You're not quite what I expected." There was a pause, as WarGrowlmon slid across a turn in the path and slammed against the invisible wall that prevented him from straying from the path. "It should be easy to eliminate you two," chuckled the voice, which definitely came from the IceDevimon.  
    "Are you the one that's been causing all this?" shouted WarGrowlmon. "Are you the Hypnos Leader?"  
    IceDevimon laughed, as he stood up from his throne, spreading his wings out in a menacing fashion.  
"Don't make me laugh, little Digimon," he chuckled. "Yes, I am the one that created all this ice, but I am not the Hypnos Leader. You're not even at the main Hypnos website." He then began to flap his wings, beating them and sending a gust of wind blowing down the path.  
    WarGrowlmon found himself slipping. He couldn't get a grip on the ice-laden floor and began slipping backwards.  
    "WarGrowlmon, use your Atomic Blaster," suggested Takato.  
    "That's no use, Takato, his attack won't reach the end of the path," pointed out Alice.  
    The fire-type Digimon, although he really wanted to believe in Takato, realised that Alice was right. The path was snake-like for a reason, to prevent people from firing an attack down from the entrance towards IceDevimon. There was no way he could possibly fight against IceDevimon. The Digimon was preventing him from even reaching him.  
    Something furry suddenly rushed past. It was Dobermon. He ran along the icy path, apparently unhindered by the powerful winds that tried to blow him back.  
"Down with Hypnos!" he roared, as he ran along the terminal and then lunged at IceDevimon.  
    The ice-subtype devil Digimon screamed out in pain, as Dobermon's teeth bit into his skinny arm. He cursed angrily, lashing about with his arm in an attempt to throw the canine Digimon off of him. IceDevimon flung out with his arm and Dobermon let go.  
"You wretched Deva!" screamed IceDevimon, before he lunged at Dobermon and slashed out with his claws. He missed. "Tundra Freeze!" He whirled round and exhaled, a cold gust of air hitting the canine Digimon.  
    That was when WarGrowlmon rushed into the rescue. He slashed at IceDevimon with his powerful axe-laden arms, elicitating a scream of pain from the water-type, ice-subtype Digimon and causing the IceDevimon to fall to his hands and knees. WarGrowlmon, wasn't interested in the Hypnos Digimon, however. He was far more concerned about Dobermon.  
    "Are you okay?" he asked, as he rushed over to Dobermon.  
    "I'm fine," replied Dobermon, as he weakly tried to get up, but found that he couldn't. "Please, take care of IceDevimon for me. We have to unfreeze the Digital World and save the Real World."

* * * * *

    "Are you okay?" asked MegaGargromon.  
    "I'm fine," replied Jenrya, as he got back up to his feet. He glared at the green-haired youth that stood behind the Hypnos henchmen. He recognised those glasses, that dark green hair and that white jacket. "Kitagawa Kenta," he growled angrily. "I should have known I'd find you here." `Especially,` Jenrya added as an afterthought, `when you take into consideration that Kenta is Juri's boyfriend and she worked for Hypnos too.`  
    There was a smug smile on Kenta's face.  
"Looks like I'm going to get some revenge against the person that put Juri in prison," laughed Kenta. "Boys, get him!" he ordered and his henchmen advanced on Jenrya.

* * * * *

    An angry snarl spread across IceDevimon's face.  
"You think you can beat me, scaly boy?" asked IceDevimon, as he raised his claws into the air. "Avalanche!" he called out and in response, several icicles fell from the sky.  
    One hit Dobermon and knocked the canine Digimon out. Another fell on to WarGrowlmon, making him stagger back in pain. The ice attack was like any other water attack. He was weak against it and suffered double the damage the water attack normally caused.  
    IceDevimon smiled.  
"How'd you like that then?" he asked WarGrowlmon. He chuckled. "You're a fool to think that you can fight against me. I will freeze you and crush you into tiny little ice cubes."

**_To be continued..._**


	18. Session 17: Flaming Ice

**Digimon.EXE**

**By Wolf O'Donnell**

WARNING! May contain Alternative Universe situations and out-of-character experiences. Upon reading this, you hereby agree that you forfeit all your rights to sue me and that I cannot be held liable for any psychological or physical damage caused by the fact that I use British English spelling and that this fanfic contains graphic acts of a heterosexual and homosexual nature (not applicable to FanFiction.net version), extreme violence and use of swear words. Digimon is copyrighted by Bandai and Toei Animation Ltd. Wolf O'Donnell is copyrighted by Nintendo Ltd, although that might have nothing to do with the fanfic. Constructive criticism is very welcome.

* * * * *

Session 17: Flaming Ice  
    Jenrya ducked underneath the punch and went for his own attack. He flung a punch into the stomach of the Hypnos henchman, practically knocking the wind out of him. The blue-haired youth leapt into the air, doing a round house kick that sent the fat thug spinning through the air to crash on to the floor.  
    Two of the Hypnos henchmen rushed towards him and grabbed him by the arms, pulling on them as if they were like children fighting over a teddy bear. A third thug rushed towards Jenrya.  
    Using the two Hypnos thugs, he lifted up and kicked the advancing thug in the stomach. Jenrya then kicked out at the Hypnos agents that held him, hitting each one painfully in the groin. Both let go of him, which was fortuitous. He had expected them to be more of a match for him. Still, he couldn't complain. Jenrya turned to face the rest of the thugs. There were six all together. Was he able to defeat them?

* * * * *

    The odds seemed stacked against him. WarGrowlmon was standing on an ice platform, which disadvantaged him and he was already disadvantaged because he was a fire-type fighting against a water-type. The rules of elemental weakness were clear. Electricity was weak against wood, which was weak against fire, which was weak against water, which was weak against electricity, which was weak against earth, which was weak against mechanical, which was weak against the ice-subtype only. It was a shame then that WarGrowlmon was both fire-type and mechanical, and that IceDevimon was a water-type and also an ice-subtype.  
    IceDevimon was the first to make his move. He lunged straight at WarGrowlmon, slashing at the fire-type Digimon with his cold ice-subtype claws. He slashed out at WarGrowlmon again and repeated, suddenly becoming a flurry of icy fists.  
"You're a fool to come across me," laughed IceDevimon. "You may be an Adult level Digimon, but you haven't matured enough." He kicked out at WarGrowlmon, sending the fire-type cyborg Digimon flying backwards.  
    WarGrowlmon landed with a painful thud on the icy floor.  
"Takato, please hurry with those Modify Advances!" he called out to his Operator.  
    "DigiModify- Big Wave activate!" announced IceDevimon's Operator.  
    The ice-subtype devil Digimon slapped his hands down on to the floor and caused a huge wave of water that rose up into the air and crashed down on to WarGrowlmon, washing the Digimon away. IceDevimon laughed.  
"This is far too easy!" he chortled. "Time to finish this!"  
    "Not just yet!" shouted Takato. "DigiModify- SnakeEgg2 activate!"  
    A small yellow snake landed on the floor in front of WarGrowlmon and began slithering its way across the floor.  
"Do you really think that tiny thing can harm me?" asked IceDevimon, who had clearly not seen the SnakeEgg2 Advance before. "Foolish Digimon!"  
    WarGrowlmon knew exactly what the SnakeEgg2 Advance was capable of. It was an electric-type attack which worked well against all water types. He waited. The SnakeEgg2 hit IceDevimon and electrocuted the Digimon, making the Hypnos Digimon cry out in pain. That was his cue! WarGrowlmon leapt to his feet and slashed at IceDevimon with his powerful axe blades.  
    IceDevimon staggered backwards. He realised that the Adult level Digimon he was facing against was more powerful than he originally thought.  
"So, you think you're so hot just because you can trick me, huh?" hissed IceDevimon angrily. He spread his wings and floated backwards. "Floor Avalanche!" he called out.  
    The entire platform began to shake, much to WarGrowlmon's surprise. Ice spikes began to burst out of the ground and travel towards him. He charged up his Atomic Blaster and fired a powerful twin blast of energy beams straight towards his opponent. He missed, but he did manage to destroy the advancing ice spikes. WarGrowlmon rushed straight towards his opponent and ducked underneath IceDevimon's cold punch. With his head lowered, he slammed straight into his opponent and knocked IceDevimon backwards.  


    "Okay, I'm in!" announced MegaGargomon. He looked around him. The entire computer network seemed frozen, like the rest of the Digital World. "Where to now?"  
    "Try and find Kenta's Digimon," ordered Jenrya.  
    "Tsunami Wave!" A huge wave of water appeared from suddenly nowhere. It flowed across the floor and then rose up before it crashed down on top of MegaGargomon. The torrent of water washed the Digimon backwards. MarineAngemon smiled. He had done good. "How was that?" he asked Kenta.  
    Kenta laughed.  
"Beautiful," was his reply. "Now finish him off."  
    "That's not going to happen, pal!" cried MegaGargomon as he leapt to his feet. "Mega Barrage!" He fired several missiles into the air, all of which curved straight towards his opponent.  
    MarineAngemon raised his arms and he glowed with an aura. He had activated the weakest of all the Barrier Advances, the AquaBarrier. It still protected him from the explosions of MegaGargomon's missiles, however, the AquaBarrier disappeared soon after the missiles hit, leaving MarineAngemon unscathed.  
"Want to try that again?" asked MarineAngemon. "I can regenerate my AquaBarriers."  
    "Yeah, but they're weaker than jello," retorted MegaGargomon. He rushed towards MarineAngemon.  


    He rushed towards IceDevimon. WarGrowlmon side-stepped the falling icicles and continued running.  
"Stand still!" roared WarGrowlmon, as he swung his axes at his opponent.  
    "WarGrowlmon, don't forget the program that Datamon gave you!" reminded Takato.  
    That was right. All WarGrowlmon had to do was to use the program on the origin of all the ice and he had a feeling that that origin was IceDevimon. If he could only get the ice-subtype Digimon to stay still, though...  
"I won't forget, Takato," he promised his Operator, as he backed off and charged up his Atomic Blaster. "Take this!" he roared and fired twin beams of red energy towards IceDevimon.  
    "Is that all you've got?" asked IceDevimon after flying around the twin beams of energy and straight at WarGrowlmon. "Frozen Claw!" He lashed out at WarGrowlmon, his claws sinking into WarGrowlmon's exposed, scaly hide. "An eye for an eye, my friend," he laughed, before headbutting WarGrowlmon with his white horns stabbing into the fire-type Digimon.

* * * * *

    The place was deserted. That was no surprise, seeing as all the civilians had evacuated. Ruki could hear the crackling of the electromagnetic radiation, as she stood there. The buildings were crumbling apart and the lights, that illuminated that part of the Orbital Space Ring during the official designated hours of daytime, were flickering eeriely. It was strange and it was frightening.  
    Ruki held her D-Scanner out in front of her. A holographic image hovered over it and it showed her a compass point that rotated round. Suddenly, it stopped and pointed towards the statue in front of her. 'That's the statue of Yagami Taichi, the first President of Phyle,' thought Ruki.  
"Its coming from the statue," exclaimed Ruki out loud.  


    Takato didn't like the way things were going. IceDevimon had the upper hand. 'How am I going to protect WarGrowlmon?' he wondered. 'IceDevimon's clearly going to wipe the floor with him.' He looked at his D-Scanner and checked the Advances that were selectable. There were a couple of electric-type advances, but there weren't enough.  
"Alice, is Dobermon functional yet?" he asked the blonde-haired girl.  
    "I'm afraid not," replied Alice with a shake of her head.  
    "Guess I'll have to go it alone," he sighed. That was when Takato noticed that he had a special Combo right in front of him. "If I combine that combo with an electrical attack," he murmured and trailed off. A smile spread across his face when he realised that the battle wasn't completely over. "All right, WarGrowlmon, it's time to end this battle!" he called out to his Digimon. "DigiModify- ZapRing3 activate!"  
    On Takato's computer screen, he could clearly see a strange two-pronged plug device appeared on WarGrowlmon's right arm. WarGrowlmon aimed straight at IceDevimon. The prongs charged up and then fired a ring of pure electricity at IceDevimon, which hit the devil Digimon square in the chest.  
    "DigiModify- Wide Sword, Long Sword, Knightmon's Berserk Sword activate!" announced Takato. The three Modify Advances never reached WarGrowlmon. On the holographic screen of his D-Scanner, the three Modify Advances flickered and then merged into a new Advance. "DigiModify- Double Hero activate!"

* * * * *

    IceDevimon gasped in horror, as he saw a Knightmon appear right next to WarGrowlmon. Two Digimon were doubling up against him? That wasn't fair! Then again, when did he ever fight fair?  
"You can't defeat me that way!" protested IceDevimon.  
    "You sure about that?" asked WarGrowlmon, before both the Knightmon and WarGrowlmon charged straight towards IceDevimon. The two of them slashed at IceDevimon mercilessly, dealing a huge amount of damage to the evil Hypnos Digimon. "And now," he roared, as the Knightmon disappeared, "to finish this! Atomic Blaster!" He fired powerful twin beams of red energy straight at his opponent.  
    This too hit IceDevimon square in the chest, and propelled the wounded Digimon backwards. The evil ice-subtype Digimon smashed into his throne, shattering it into a thousand shards of ice.  


    "It's not use, Jen," protested MegaGargomon. His breath was ragged from fighting against MarineAngemon. "He keeps healing himself." How could you fight against a Digimon that kept healing itself? You couldn't, especially when there was no way to stop the Digimon from healing itself. "We've got to find some other way to deal with MarineAngemon!"  
    All around him, MegaGargomon heard Kenta laugh.  
"There is no way you can stop MarineAngemon," he told Jenrya. "Just face it, Hypnos has won. We'll rule the Earth Sphere!"  
    "You think that your Leader wants to rule the Earth Sphere?" asked Jenrya. "Well, you're sadly mistaken. He wants to destroy it. You're being used by him."  
    "What? You're lying!"  
    "Hey, would I lie?" asked Jenrya.  
    "Would he?" asked MarineAngemon curiously.  
    MegaGargomon shook his head in reply. Of course, there was the time when Jenrya lied about that birthday party for him, and the time he lied about liking Ryo, but those times didn't count.  
"No way," was his verbal reply to MarineAngemon's question. "We heard it from a very reliable source. Your Leader's making a super virus, not a super Digimon. He wants to use it to destroy the Digital World."  
    "That's nuts!" cried Kenta, who had heard MegaGargomon's statement. "Why would he do a thing like that? You're lying! MarineAngemon, delete his Digimon now!"  
    "Hey, I'm not lying!" protested MegaGargomon. "If you want, go ask him yourself."  
    "What are you waiting for?" shouted Kenta. "Finish him!"  


    A sly smile spread across IceDevimon's face upon hearing his Operator's command. Yes, he'd finish off WarGrowlmon. With a powerful roar, he rushed straight towards his opponent.  
    WarGrowlmon tried to dodge the attack, but he was too slow. IceDevimon's cold, claws grabbed on to him and held tight. He could feel the cold getting to him, the water-type, ice-subtype Digimon weakening him with his every cold breath.  
"Let go!" growled WarGrowlmon, as he tried to flex his muscles and break free from his opponent's icy grasp.  
    "Hold on, buddy," called out Takato. "DigiModify- Spike Body activate!"  
    Though WarGrowlmon couldn't feel it, spikes had grown from his scaly skin and from his metallic armour, piercing IceDevimon and making the ice-subtype devil Digimon float away from him. He smiled toothily at his opponent.  
"It's time for a little payback!" he roared, before charging up his powerful Atomic Blaster. He fired two beams of pure red energy once again. He missed, though.  
    IceDevimon may have been wounded, but he wasn't slow. He had flown around the twin beams of energy.  
"This has gone on for long enough!" he roared, as he backed away towards the icicles that lined the long terminal. "Surrender now or these Digimon, who are still alive, might I add, will get it."  
    "You're serious, aren't you?" asked WarGrowlmon. He didn't dare move a muscle. "You coward."  
    "Well, that's just how I operate," laughed IceDevimon, as he aimed his right palm at WarGrowlmon. "Now, surrender and be deleted or suffer the consequences."

* * * * *

    "No, it can't end this way!" cried Takato, as he banged his fist on the desk. "I can't lose you now, WarGrowlmon." He closed his eyes, averting his gaze away from the computer screen. Takato didn't want to see his best digital friend deleted, especially since he hadn't taken the precaution of making a back-up copy. "All of your data will be lost forever, if you're deleted now," he told his Digimon. "I can't let you sacrifice yourself like that."  
    "I have to, Takato."  
    Alice looked at the computer screen in front of her. Dobermon's stats were all displayed in front of her.  
"Takato, don't cry," she told him from the computer terminal she was using. "WarGrowlmon'll be all right. You just wait and see."

* * * * *

    "Bye bye now," taunted IceDevimon evilly. "What?"  
    Dobermon leapt at IceDevimon and tore at the ice-subtype Digimon with his claws. He was relentless.  
"You're going down!" he howled, before biting into IceDevimon's overly long arm and tugged at it like a dog playing Tug-of-War with a shoe. "Now, WarGrowlmon!" he called out, his voice muffled by arm. "Use the cure.bat Datamon gave you!"  
    "No, I can't, you'll be deleted as well," protested WarGrowlmon.  
    "I'm backed up on my D-Scanner," explained Dobermon, as he tugged at IceDevimon, jerking the ice-subtype Digimon about. "Now use it!" he growled, as he pulled the Hypnos Digimon into WarGrowlmon's direct line of fire, such that he himself wasn't in the way.  
    WarGrowlmon prayed for success, as he took out the cure.bat program.  
"This one's for you the Digimon and the humans of the Earth Sphere!" he cried out, as he threw Datamon's special cure program straight at IceDevimon.  
    "This can't be happening!" screamed IceDevimon, as the program hit him. He glowed blue, then green and then began to flicker like a TV picture on a television that hadn't been tuned to the right frequency. "Hypnos... forever!" he cried out, before his data was torn apart by the program.  
    There was a powerful explosion, which tore through IceDevimon and Dobermon simultaneously. The shockwave passed through WarGrowlmon harmlessly and shattered the ice all around him. The ice on the floor melted. The Digital World was unfrozen!

* * * * *

    "All right, War..." began Takato, only to trail off. "What's going on?" he wondered out loud, as he looked at his screen. Before his very eyes, WarGrowlmon's stats changed.  
    WarGrowlmon's entire classification altered. He changed from a fire-type to an electric-type. The mechanical classification, which had also been assigned to him, disappeared. WarGrowlmon's data size increased and his very shape changed. He still had that hazard symbol on his chest, but he was now like some armour-clad knight of days gone by. His eyes were yellow. On the top of his helmet was a design that looked like Guilmon's head. He carried a lance and a round shield, which had the symbol of the Earth Sphere Officials (an upright, red triangle with three triangles on every side to form a six-pointed star) on it.  
    "You've digivolved!" exclaimed Takato in surprise.  
    "I guess I have," said Gallantmon, the Mega level of Guilmon.  
    "Congratulations, Takato," congratulated Alice, as she walked over to him.  
    "Thanks," thanked Takato with a smile on his face. However, it soon disappeared when he remembered what had happened. "Oh, I'm sorry about Dobermon, by the way."  
    "Don't be," replied Alice with a faint smile on her face. "He's been backed-up, so he's alive and well."  
    Suddenly, Takato's D-Scanner began to ring. It was a phone call.  


    Kenta was held up against a metallic wall and Jenrya was the one holding him up.  
"Guys," began Jenrya, with his D-Scanner against his ear, "we've got to head back to the Orbital Space Ring. Ruki needs us up there." He turned to face Kenta momentarily, giving the green-haired youth a look that would have put the Fear of Devas into any criminal scum. "She's at Hypnos Headquarters and needs our help badly."

**_To be continued..._**


	19. session 18: Bokura no War Game

Digimon.EXE 

By Wolf O'Donnell

WARNING! May contain Alternative Universe situations and out-of-character experiences. Upon reading this, you hereby agree that you forfeit all your rights to sue me and that I cannot be held liable for any psychological or physical damage caused by the fact that I use British English spelling and that this fanfic contains graphic acts of a heterosexual and homosexual nature (not applicable to FanFiction.net version), extreme violence and use of swear words. Digimon is copyrighted by Bandai and Toei Animation Ltd. Wolf O'Donnell is copyrighted by Nintendo Ltd, although that might have nothing to do with the fanfic. Constructive criticism is very welcome.

* * * * *

Session 18: Bokura no War Game  
    "The time of our victory is at hand!" announced the voice from the television set. The picture of the old man was full of static and blurred momentarily every now and then, as if something was interfering with the transmission. "We at the Hypnos Organisation, have completed our fearsome Project Juggernaut. Our next target will be the Earth Sphere's military networks. We will be launching a hacking rocket from our labs and once we have control, Operation WarGame shall begin!"  
    "I don't care," shouted Dr. Oikawa, the phone to his ear. "You just get them here as soon as possible!" He turned back round to face the television screen. On it was the picture of an old man, one that Oikawa recognised as Yamaki Mitsuo. "Hypnos are threatening to wage a war against us!" he swore angrily. "You just make sure that all available Officials and Devas are in position to attack Hypnos HQ."

* * * * *

    The black Mega-level Digimon grinned, as he floated through the DarkNet. It seemed so empty, more so than usual. He bet the normal Networks like InphyNet and EuroNet were just the same.  
"Looks like Project Juggernaut is complete," he chuckled. "I just can't wait till their War Game starts." Beelzemon smiled evilly. "Goodbye, you worthless human filth!"

* * * * *

    Ruki peered round the corner cautiously. 'There's far too many Hypnos goons rushing about,' she thought. It didn't seem like there was anyway that she could get to the central laboratory where the Hypnos Leader was bound to be.  
"Come on, guys, I need your help," she murmured under her breath.  


    The special suit to protect them from the electromagnetic radiation looked incredibly weird. It was a black jumpsuit, with red edges around the cuffs and collars. The gloves were brown, as were the brown leather boots, and the black helmets made them look like astronauts. On the breastpocket of the black suit was the symbol of the Earth Sphere Officials- an upright, red triangle with three black triangles surrounding it to form a six-pointed star, against a white background.  
    Alice sighed, as she held the helmet underneath her arm.  
"I don't believe that Hypnos is threatening to plunge the Earth Sphere into a war," she stated. It reminded her of an Anime show she once saw, but she couldn't remember the name of it.  
    "I guess the Hypnos Leader is mad enough to do it," said Jenrya, as he put his helmet on.  
    Ryo, who was also with them, looked back.  
"Hey, Takato, come on!" he called out to the brown-haired Deva. "If you don't hurry up, we'll leave without you."  
    "I'm sorry, guys, but this thing on my back is heavier than I thought it would be," panted Takato, as he ran up to the others. It was of course, the air supply, that was connected up to his suit at the shoulders. "Is it really necessary?" he asked in a whining tone of voice.  
    "Sure it is, the radiation's shorted out the air supply to Phyle," replied Jenrya.  
    "Yeah, we don't want you suffocating on us," said Ryo.  
    "Okay, we're there!" called out the driver of the specialised truck.  
    They all put on their helmets, as quickly as possible. That was because the air would be slowly drained out of their compartment, so as to not cause a huge pressure gradient that would end up with them being sucked out of the truck.  
    Moments later, when everything was ready, they emerged from the truck to find themselves on the front line of the entire operation. Several Devas and Officials, wearing similar suits surrounded them. They all surrounded a large statue that had been shoved out of the way to reveal a hole in the floor. The trees around them had all died, and their leaves now lay on the floor amongst their dead carcasses.  
    "So, you the new Devas?" asked a suited man that walked up to them.  
    "Dad?" exclaimed Jenrya in surprise.  
    The man in the black suit stepped back in surprise.  
"Jenrya? What are you doing here?" he asked in complete surprise. Of all the things that were to happen, he didn't excpect that Commander Oikawa would send his own son against Hypnos. "Oikawa sent you, didn't he?"  
    "Dad, it's okay, we can handle this," argued Jenrya.  
    "No, you can't!" protested Dr. Lee angrily. "You're just children. You can't possibly take on Hypnos." This was why he had kept them on Earth, so that they wouldn't be sent in against Hypnos. He had always known that Hypnos had its headquarters on the Orbital Space Ring, he had just never known where.  
    Takato looked towards the statue. He saw a couple of suited men, or women, advancing towards the hole in front of the statue. Somehow, he knew that Ruki was there.  
"Jenrya, let me handle this," said Takato, as he gently nudged his blue-haired friend aside. "Dr. Lee, with all due respect, we've got plenty of experience fighting against Hypnos. Why, we've managed to foil all their plans."  
    "Yes, but this is different," began Dr. Lee. "This is Hypnos Headquarters. This operation against Hypnos is bound to be far more dangerous than any other." He gestured towards the statue of Ishida Yamato and the hole that it used to cover. "Operation War Game is going to be launched from here. We've got them surrounded and that means they're even more desperate than before. These criminals won't hesitate to take a young kid's life." It was definite from the tone in his voice. He was determined to prevent Jenrya and his friends from going in. "You're not going."  
    This puzzled Takato.  
"Didn't you send Ruki here, though?" he asked Jenrya's father. "Isn't she inside Hypnos HQ?"  
    "Well..." began Dr. Lee.  
    "I can't believe how two-faced you are," accused Takato angrily. "If Ruki's in there, I'm going in after her!" He would not let the love of his life- yes, he was willing to admit that he loved her- be hurt by those Hypnos scumbags. "And there's nothing you can do to stop me," he told Dr. Lee. He turned so that he could see his friends out of the corner of his eye. "And I'm sure my friends are just as willing to go in to help her, because they're her friends too."  
    Dr. Lee thought about it. They had done well against the Dragon Syndicate in the Power Plant incident.  
"Okay, then," he sighed, "but I want you to promise me that you'll be careful. If things get too dangerous, I want you to pull out. Got that?"  
    "Sure thing, dad," promised Jenrya with a nod of his head.  


    Ruki took off her black helmet. It was safe to do so. There seemed to be lots of radiation-proofing within the room she was in and it seemed to be well ventilated. It was, of course, to protect the computers that kept the security system on the doors functioning and ensure that the soldiers didn't suffocate. She looked at the thick metallic door in front of her. It looked far too thick for her to batter down. Even if those Devas and Officials that had been sent in with her were there, instead of being held captive, the door couldn't be battered down with their help.  
"Rena, it's your turn," she told her Digimon, before she connected her D-Scanner up to the door.  
    "Hey, you!" shouted a voice.  
    The auburn-haired girl turned round and saw the corridor was suddenly filled up with Hypnos guards. Each one of them wore dark green suits similar to the one she wore. 'This doesn't look good,' she thought.  


    Jenrya caught the rifle as it fell. He grabbed it and turned it round, rushing towards the guard to which it used to belong. He thrust the butt of the rifle into the guard's stomach, the force of which knocked the ground to the floor. The guard hit his head against the hard floor heavily and was knocked unconscious by the force.  
    "Bravo!" exclaimed Ryo, as he gave Jenrya some much deserved applause. "You were fantastic, babe!"  
    "Darn straight," said Jenrya with a smile on his face, however, he smiled at the wrong person. Well, it was hard to tell who was who since they were all wearing the same thing and the visors didn't allow one to see into the helmets very clearly.  
    Takato looked at the corridor in front of him. There were two turns and four doors along it. Which one was the right one? There were so many. He also had no idea how Hypnos managed to hide this base within the Orbital Space Ring for so long, especially without the Officials knowing. The brown-haired youth suspected some corruption within the Officials, but that wasn't important at the moment.  
    "It looks like we've got to split up," stated Alice, as she looked around her.  
    "We can't," protested Jenrya. "We promised my dad that we'd stick together."  
    "Wait!" called out Ryo. He heard footsteps. "More of those Hypnos goons are coming!"  
    "This way!" called out Takato, as he ran ahead of them.  
    "Wait up!"  


    He too wore a radiation suit to protect him from the electromagnetic radiation. That was because he was near the source of it all, the huge servers he had set up to assemble the Juggernaut Virus together from the various component programs he had stolen from all around the Earth Sphere.  
    Dr. Yamaki smiled evilly. It had taken him many years, but he had managed to build a powerful rocket. The design of the virus delivery system was a stroke of masterpiece. At least, it was according to him. A virus transmitted through the regular Digital World would be easily detected by the Officials. They'd shut the network down and prevent transmission. By using a special hacking rocket to deliver his Juggernaut Virus, the virus would be instantly transmitted to all machines in a 50 mile radius. That would be enough to stop the Officials from shutting the networks down.  
    The old man turned to face the large servers that were connected up to another server. All data had been transferred from them, to the main server, which was in itself connected to the rocket.  
"Soon, I'll have my revenge against you, Lee!" laughed Yamaki insanely. "World! Prepare for deletion! Juggernaut's coming to town!"  


    "Takato?" exclaimed Ruki in surprise, as she stood up.  
    A smile spread across Takato's face, as he walked up to the energy bars that kept Ruki within her cell.  
"I'm here to rescue you," he said proudly. He too had his helmet under his arm, having found out that most of the Hypnos Base was protected from the electromagnetic radiation. "Where's the darn plug-in port?" he wondered out loud.  
    "Where are the others?" asked Ruki.  
    "They're dealing with the security locks leading to the Hypnos Leader's office," explained Takato. He spotted it. The port was just out of Ruki's reach. "Okay, Gallantmon, it's time to do your stuff!"

* * * * *

    Gallantmon landed on the floor, his cape falling around him. He stood up, flicking his red cape back and looked around him. Surrounding him was the Hypnos symbol, and the path looked like a metallic grille, as did the various terminals it led to.  
"Time to get going," he said, before running across the metallic pathway and towards the lock program.  
    "Unauthorised hacking attempt detected!" announced a voice, before an alarm blared. "Activate Protect1 Program!"  
    Suddenly, two large monoliths appeared and blocked Gallantmon's path, surrounding him on either side of the path. Each one displayed the same number, and this number decreased in a uniform manner.  
    10...  
    Gallantmon tried his best to destroy the monoliths, but he couldn't do it. They seemed unusually strong.  
    9...  
    He tried his new attack, Lightning Joust. Still nothing.  
    8...  
    No matter how hard Gallantmon struck at the monoliths, he couldn't break them. His lance didn't seem to shatter them at all. "Takato!" he called out. "I need a powerful Advance now!"  
    7...  
    "Hold on," said Takato.  
    6... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... The monoliths launched a powerful explosion that engulfed Gallantmon and then wounded him. The number on the monoliths reset back to its original number and then began to count back down to the next huge explosion.  
    "DigiModify- Hammer activate!"  
    Gallantmon's lance and shield disappeared. In their place was a huge hammer that the knight Digimon had to hold in both of his hands.  
"All right!" he exclaimed, before lifting the hammer high up into the and smashing down at the Protect1 in front of him. The monolith shattered. He swung his hammer back round and shattered the one behind. "Thanks, Takato!" he thanked his Operator, as the hammer in his hands disappeared and was replaced with his original weapons.  
    "Unauthorised Digimon still detected," announced the voice. "Activate Protect2 Program!"  
    Gallantmon braced himself for another powerful program like the one before. This time, he saw a large reddish blob that seemed to reflect light in such a way that a rainbow of colours shone from its shining surface.  
"What is that thing?" wondered Gallantmon out loud. Well, whatever it was, he knew that he had to be careful. "Better get rid of it now. Lightning Joust!" He fired a poweful burst of electricity from his lance, which hit the blob square in the middle.  
    The Protect2 just crackled with electricity and absorbed Gallantmon's attack. This was a formidable defence program indeed. Huge tentacles shot out from the Protect2 and latched themselves on to Gallantmon's lance. The red gel began to ooze all over it, engulfing Gallantmon's weapon.  
    "Let go!" he cried angrily. Gallantmon moved his lance-carrying arm to the side and then aimed his shield at the Protect2. "Eat this!" The shield began to charge up. "Shield of the Just!" he roared, and fired a powerful beam of holy energy at the Protect2, rendering it into pieces.  
    "Good work, Gallantmon!" praised Takato.  
    "Unauthorised Digimon still detected," announced the voice.  
    This was Gallantmon's cue. He ran as quickly as he could. The faster he got to the lock program, the sooner he could avoid the Protect Programs that Hypnos had installed to the servers. He didn't get very far, however, when another Protect program appeared in front of him. There was no guessing what number this Protect program was.  
    Protect3 was unlike anything that Gallantmon had ever seen. It looked like a gigantic hand with a head on top of the wrist. The head was like those big, yellow smiley faces one finds on message forums and chat rooms. It smiled at Gallantmon so nicely, that the Digimon almost thought that the Protect3 meant no harm to him. That was before the Protect3 formed a fist and slammed it down towards Gallantmon.  
    The Digimon rolled out of the way, avoiding being crushed to a digital pancake. He ran as fast as he could, but was suddenly pulled back. The Protect3 had caught hold of his cape. Gallantmon turned round and fired an electrical attack from his lance. It did nothing against the Protect3.  
"Oh no, you don't!" he roared, before he rushed back and slashed at the Protect3 with his lance. Nothing.  
    The Protect3 flung Gallantmon backwards and slammed the Digimon into the floor, before it itself crashed into Gallantmon, crushing the Digimon.  
    "Gallantmon!" screamed Takato.  
    "No, I can't be beaten," said Gallantmon, as he strained against the Protect3. "I've got lives to save. I can't be deleted! I just can't! I won't be deleted!" He threw the Protect3 off of himself. "All right, you. Eat this!" He charged straight at the Protect3 and impaled the program.  
    Seconds later, the Protect3 was deleted.  
    Gallantmon saw the lock program ahead of him. He ran as fast as he could towards it. The Digimon didn't want to face up against anymore of the darned Protect Programs.

* * * * *

    Jenrya ran and skidded across the floor, knocking the legs out from underneath the Hypnos lackey. 'I'm getting good at taking out these henchmen,' he thought to himself. His pupils widened. One of them aimed their gun at him. He flung his black helmet at the Hypnos henchmen, knocking the gun sideways. Jenrya lunged at the guard, grabbing the barrel of the gun with both hands.  
    "Let go, you brat!" growled the man.  
    "You first," retorted Jenrya, before he kicked the man in the bollocks. He tore the gun out of the man's hands and whacked him over the head with it, knocking the criminal out. "You guys got through yet?" he asked Alice and Ryo, as he turned to face the others.  
    "Not yet," replied Ryo with a shake of his head.  
    Alice pressed a button on her D-Scanner, sending some information to Dobermon.  
"The Hypnos network is a pretty secure place," she told Jenrya. "It's got these strange Protect Programs all over it." The Hypnos networks were also unusually virus-free, as opposed to the DarkNet and the normal networks of the Digital World. "We might not be able to get through for quite some time."  
    "Even Cyberdramon's having trouble against the Protect Programs," announced Ryo.  
    That was not something that Jenrya wanted to hear. Well, at least no more Hypnos agents were coming towards them.  
"Okay, I'll give you guys a hand then," he said, as he walked up to the locked door. He quickly plugged his D-Scanner in. "Go give it to them, MegaGargomon!"

* * * * *

    Gallantmon was within reach of the lock program. It wouldn't be long before he reached it and when he did, he'd destroy it and release Ruki. Of course, he hadn't counted on another Protect3 getting in the way.  
"Darn," cursed Gallantmon, as the Protect3 crawled over towards him.

**_To be continued..._**


	20. Session 19: Fighting Soul

**Digimon.EXE**

**By Wolf O'Donnell**

WARNING! May contain Alternative Universe situations and out-of-character experiences. Upon reading this, you hereby agree that you forfeit all your rights to sue me and that I cannot be held liable for any psychological or physical damage caused by the fact that I use British English spelling and that this fanfic contains graphic acts of a heterosexual and homosexual nature (not applicable to FanFiction.net version), extreme violence and use of swear words. Digimon is copyrighted by Bandai and Toei Animation Ltd. Wolf O'Donnell is copyrighted by Nintendo Ltd, although that might have nothing to do with the fanfic. Constructive criticism is very welcome.

* * * * *

Session 19: Fighting Soul  
    Jenrya fell to the floor. 'Man, that guy packs quite a punch,' he thought, as saw a few droplets of blood splatter on to the metallic floor. He wiped the blood from his nose.  
"So, you get your thrills from beating up little kids, huh?" he asked the thug.  
    "You're not little and you're not a kid," sneered the Hypnos guard. "When I was your age, I was already working for the Syndicates."  
    "Yeah, and now look at you," said Jenrya with a smile, as he got up to his feet. "You're a sad loser who feels manly by beating up those that are weaker than him." From Ryo's hand- he was holding Jenrya's D-Scanner for him- he could hear MegaGargomon question his actions. 'I'm not nuts, MegaGargomon,' he thought to himself. 'I'm just taking advantage of his weakness.' Jenrya watched the thug carefully. "What's the matter, can't take on someone your own size?"  
    The Hypnos agent roared and rushed straight at Jenrya.  
    That was his cue! Jenrya rushed straight towards his opponent and then ducked. He swept his leg out and tripped the Hypnos guard.  
"Out of the way, guys!" he shouted at Alice and Ryo, as he turned to see where the Hypnos guard went.  
    Alice and Ryo both leapt out of the way, as the Hypnos guard was sent crashing into the locked door thanks to his own momentum.  
    "Nice," said Alice sarcastically, as she watched the unconscious thug slump down to the ground, leaving a bloody trail on the metallic door. "I bet this place's janitor is going to freak when he sees this mess."  
    Ryo laughed at Alice's comment.  
"I think that'll be the least of his problems," he told her. "Say, how're you doing Cyberdramon, buddy?"

* * * * *

    "I'm fine," growled Cyberdramon, as he dodged the Protect4's powerful laser beams. He wanted to tear it to pieces, but found that it couldn't. The Protect4 was like one humanoid robot (double the size of a Digimon) with a gigantic laser cannon for its right arm, which it held up with its left arm. It was that formidable weapon that prevented Cyberdramon from getting near enough to deal with the machine, as his Desolation Claw attacks were far too weak against the Protect4.  
    Dobermon didn't care what Cyberdramon said. He knew very well that they were in big trouble. The Protect4 was more powerful than the other Protect programs and it could clearly wipe the floor with their butts.  
"Don't pay any attention to him," he told Alice. "We're getting our butts kicked!" He ran straight at the Protect4, but another a Protect1 suddenly blocked his path. "The other Protect Programs are here!" He backed away and then bumped into the second part of the Protect1. He looked at both monoliths and saw the numbers counting down. "Help!"  
    Now Protect1s, Cyberdramon could clearly handle. He cupped his hands together. A sphere of white energy began to glow between the palms of his hands. With one roar, he fired several white beams of energy that curved through the air and smashed into each of the monoliths that made up the Protect1.  
    The Protect4 aimed its cannon down at Cyberdramon.  
    MegaGargomon rushed forward and leapt into the air. He kicked out at the Protect4, knocking it over on to its back, just as it fired. The lasers shot upwards, missing all of them.  
"Sorry, I'm late," apologised MegaGargomon, "but I got held up by traffic." He saw the Protect4 trying to get up. "Oh, no you don't, pal!" he roared, as he punched at the Protect4, his fist smashing through the program's chest. It disintergrated around MegaGargomon's fist.  
    "Hurry, Cyberdramon!" yelped Dobermon, as he saw the 2 on the Protect1 program change to a 1.  
    Cyberdramon smashed his way through the Protect1 program, destroying the two monoliths that made it up. He looked at Dobermon wordlessly, before turning to face MegaGargomon. The Digimon wordlessly nodded his thanks to the Mega level Digimon.  
    "Look out!" barked Dobermon, and he dived towards Cyberdramon, pushing the Digimon out of the way. The two Digimon collapsed on to the floor, the red tentacle lashing out above them. "Looks like we're even, huh?" he chuckled.  
    "Don't worry, guys, I'll deal with that Protect2," announced MegaGargomon, before he fired two large missiles at the program. Both hit it and destroyed it. "Let's get moving before more of those Protect programs get here," he suggested, as he turned to go down the path.

* * * * *

    Yamaki saw the warning flash on the computer screen in front of him. He looked away from the rocket and then back at the screen. Reaching out, he pressed a button with a gloved finger.  
"So, those Devas think that they can hack into my security system?" he chuckled in an amused manner. "How amusing!" Yamaki glanced back up at the rocket and then looked back down towards the screen. "Hikaru!"  
    Another person within a radiation suit appeared. Through the visor, one could clearly see his brown hair. Imagine a male version of Hikari. This person looked just like her, only he was a male.  
"Yes, Dr. Yamaki?" asked Kamiya Hikaru.  
    "Some Devas are trying to get in," the old man told Hikaru. "Deal with them."  
    Hikaru nodded.  
"Of course, sir," he said.

* * * * *

    A beam of light shone down from the 'sky' and landed on the path and a Digimon materialised in its place.  
    MegaGargomon nearly backed off in surprise. It was another MegaGargomon.  
"What the Heck is going on here?" he wondered out loud. The reply he received wasn't one that he liked, either. In reply, several more Digimon appeared. One looked like Cyberdramon and the other looked like Dobermon. "What the Heck? Where'd you come from?"  
    The copy didn't reply. MegaGargomon(2).EXE just took one step back, before launching several missiles into the air, all of which curved towards MegaGargomon.  
    The original leapt back, as did the other originals.  
"Oh, I get!" exclaimed MegaGargomon. "This must be Hypnos's idea of a joke." He grimaced at the thought of having to delete himself, or rather, a copy of himself. "Well, I'm not laughing!" he shouted, as if he expected the Hypnos agents to hear his words. "Gargo Missile!" He fired two powerful missiles, which hit the copy and deleted it in an instant. "Oh, that just takes the piss. Why couldn't you have made him a decent copy instead of a cheap knock-off?"  
    "What's the matter, don't you like my copies?" asked a voice, as another MegaGargomon copy appeared in front of the original.  
    "Who's there?" asked Dobermon.  
    A Digimon materialised in front of them. He looked like a wizard and he wore a strange white mask with purple patterns over it. The mask had no eye-holes in it and no hole for the mouth. Yet, the Digimon could clearly see through it, because it managed to side-step and avoid one of Cyberdramon's Desolation Claw attacks.  
"My name is Wizardmon and I am the Digimon of Hikaru, Yamaki's right-hand-man," replied the Digimon. "I've been given orders to delete you, and I thought it would be kind of fun to see whether I could delete you using you."  
    Cyberdramon roared angrily and wordlessly, before he shoved Cyberdramon(2) aside and lunged for Wizardmon. His claws swept through thin air as Wizardmon disappeared.  
"Where'd he go?" wondered Cyberdramon out loud, as he searched all around him.  
    "Look out!" warned Ryo.  
    Cyberdramon whirled round, just in time to see his clone lunge at him. He lashed out with his own claws and stabbed Cyberdramon(3) in the stomach. His copy was suddenly deleted, when another Cyberdramon copy appeared in front of him. He did not notice Wizardmon appear behind him and fired a sphere of electricity at his back.  
    "Cyberdramon! No!" cried Dobermon, before he lunged straight at his copy and tore it to shreds. Quickly, he dashed straight at Wizardmon and lunged at the masked Digimon.  
    Dobermon(3) appeared in front of Wizardmon and leapt through the air, lunging at the original Dobermon. The copy smashed into the original and the two went tumbling on to the pathway's floor. Dobermon(3) snarled wordlessly and snapped its toothy jaws at Dobermon.  
    Something yellow suddenly flashed past and Dobermon(3) howled out in pain, before it disintergrated into tiny bits of digital data that dispersed into the air. This yellow thing then leapt straight at Wizardmon, swinging her golden, metallic staff at the Hypnos Digimon.  
    "Who the Heck are you?" asked Wizardmon.  
    "It's Rena!" exclaimed MegaGargomon in surprise. He didn't expect to see her so quickly.  
    MegaGargomon(4) charged straight at the original copy, but never made it. Something slashed at it and seconds later, the copy split into two and disintergrated.  
    Gallantmon smiled, even though it wasn't visible through the helmet he wore. He turned stood up and turned round to face MegaGargomon.  
"Sorry, we're late," he apologised. "How have you guys been faring?"  
    "Watch out!" warned MegaGargomon, before he flung a fist at Gallantmon. Well, he missed but he ended up hitting the clone of Gallantmon that had appeared behind the Mega level knight Digimon.  
    Rena was the only Digimon that wasn't being cloned. She didn't know why, but she couldn't care less. What mattered was deleting the Digimon that was clearly behind all the clones. The Sakuyamon leapt backwards, avoiding Wizardmon's powerful electricity blast. She raised an arm into the air and sent her Spirit Strike attack against the Hypnos Digimon.  
    "Is that the best you can do?" asked Wizardmon, after blocking her attack with his staff.  
    "No, it isn't," replied Rena, before she lunged straight at him and thrust the end of her staff at Wizardmon. Sakuyamon ended up impaling the Digimon on the end of her staff. "Was that good enough for you?" she asked tauntingly, as she removed the staff from Wizardmon.  
    The Hypnos Digimon clutched at his wound, collapsing to his knees.  
"You'll regret this," wheezed Wizardmon, before the digital that made up his body tore apart and dispersed into the air.  
    "No, Wizardmon!" cried a voice that belonged to Hikaru. "You'll pay for this!"  
    "Hikaru, how could you have failed me so?" asked another voice, which didn't belong to any of the Deva Operators.  
    "Hey, that's the voice of the Hypnos Leader!" pointed out MegaGargomon.  
    "Here, take this data from the Juggernaut Virus!"  
    Tiny bits of digital data began to fly back towards where Wizardmon once stood. It formed a wireframe model of what could only have been Wizardmon. More data clumped to the purple wireframe and Wizardmon was suddenly reborn. This time, however, he glowed eeriely with a white light, which seemed to make the Digimon more menacing.  
"Juggernaut Magic!" he announced, as he thrust his hands out in front of him.  
    "Rena!" cried Gallantmon, as he ran across the pathway. He leapt over the Digimon and speared the new Wizardmon, just as the Hypnos Digimon fired a powerful purple blast.

* * * * *

    Takato was speechless, as he stood by the locked door. He looked at the holographic screen over his D-Scanner. Gallantmon had received the full brunt of the blast and had been rendered unfunctional. His Digimon was as good as deleted.  
"No, this can't be happening," sobbed Takato, as tears began to form. "Gallantmon, you can't be dead, you just can't!"  
    "You did make a back-up copy didn't you?" asked Ruki.  
    There was no need to reply to her question. From Takato's miserable expression it was clear that he didn't. Gallantmon's information would soon be erased completely and Takato would never see his Digimon again. Oh, sure, he could always create another one from scratch, but it wouldn't be the same, now would it?  
    A Digimon's information is always stored in the D-Scanner, even if the Digimon appears to be elsewhere, it is still in the D-Scanner. Thus, if it is deleted, the information on the D-Scanner is wiped. If there is a back-up copy, the information will still remain in the D-Scanner. Think of the information as the Digimon's soul and the digital data as its body. Its body can go anywhere it likes, but its soul will always remain within that portable machine called a D-Scanner.  
    "I always thought that we'd be together, Gallantmon," said Takato, as he wiped the tears from his eyes. "I'd never thought that you'd ever leave my side. It seemed that you were always there for me, just like a best friend." Over time, his Digimon had become a best friend and much more. Now it seemed that it was all over.  
    Jenrya's D-Scanner soon rang. He checked the screen. His Dad was calling him. Out of respect for Takato, he stepped away and answered the call quietly.  
    Takato could still remember being given his D-Scanner. It was his own father that had given Guilmon to him. At that time, Guilmon was in his Baby form and he had nurtured his Digimon to Child level. It had been a long time, and he had taken great care, but he had done it. Since then, they had been the best of friends, always looking out for each other. Now, that was all over. He would never hear Gallantmon's voice again.  
    "Takato, I've got something for you," said Jenrya, as he approached his brown-haired friend. No reply. "Takato, it's from my Dad. He says it will help heal Gallantmon. Your Digimon'll be okay."  
    "What? How's that possible?" asked Ruki. She couldn't quite make sense of it.  
    "Guilmon was my dad's present to Takato's dad," replied Jenrya. He knew because he had heard the entire story from his own father only a few seconds ago.  
    Jenrya explained how Takato wasn't initially an only child. Takato once had a twin brother, but complications set in and his twin brother died. Jenrya's father had used the DNA from Takato's twin to create Guilmon.EXE, a special Digimon that would interact better with its Operator. Guilmon.EXE was a present to Takato's parents and to Takato, a way of keeping the memory of Takato's twin brother alive.  
    "This program Dad sent me," began Jenrya, as he handed his D-Scanner over to Takato, "will help restore Gallantmon. However, there'll be a problem."  
    "I don't care," replied Takato, as he took Jenrya's D-Scanner from him. "I'll do anything for my friends, and that includes Gallantmon."  
    "Gallantmon is 90% based on your DNA, Takato," protested Jenrya. "Using this program will close the gap. His DNA will become 100% identical to yours. His heart will become in synch with yours. Anything that happens to him will happen to you."  
    Takato plugged Jenrya's D-Scanner to his and began transferring the data.  
"I don't care, Jen," he told Jenrya. "If it means saving Gallantmon's life, then I'll do it." He waited and watched. Something miraculous happened.

* * * * *

    Gallantmon stirred. His digital body began to glow with a white light, as the program set about work rewriting his very digital data. The other Digimon backed off, as Gallantmon stood up. His armour changed colour from grey to red and in place of his red cape were white wings like that of an angel. The program had changed Gallantmon to Gallantmon Version 2.0.  
"What's going on?" wondered the Digimon, as he looked at himself. "What's happened?"  
    "Gallantmon, are you okay?" asked an excited Takato.  
    "I'm fine," replied Gallantmon_v2.0 in a quizzical fashion. He was sure that he was supposed to be deleted, so why wasn't he? Well, that didn't matter. "I'm fine, thanks, Takato." He was sure that his Operator had something to do with saving his digital life and he was thankful for that.

* * * * *

    Dr. Yamaki couldn't care less about Hikaru anymore. He would just have to launch the hacking rocket before the Devas broke through the secure door. Yamaki pressed a button and switched off the servers. He would need all the power he could get to launch the rocket and the servers he had just weren't necessary anymore.  
"Say goodbye, world," he laughed, as he reached out to press the button in front of him.  
    "Stop right there!"  
    A frown spread across Yamaki's face, as he turned round.  
"Lee!" he growled angrily, upon seeing Jenrya. He could see the family resemblance and that made his blood boil. "So, the Lee family has come to ruin my plans again, eh? Typical. You Lees are always there to ruin my life."  
    "My Grandfather didn't ruin your life!" protested Jenrya angrily. He had heard the story from his father. He knew what was motivating Yamaki to do all this. "Besides, why do you want to destroy this world so bad?"  
    "To eliminate Dr. Lee's work, of course," replied Yamaki. "I'll destroy everything that my rival created. Everything!"  
    "Not if I can help it!" roared Takato, before he plugged his D-Scanner straight into the nearest port he could find and transmitted Gallantmon_v2.0 straight into the hacking rocket.

**_To be continued..._**


	21. Session 20: Akiramenaide

Digimon.EXE 

By Wolf O'Donnell

WARNING! May contain Alternative Universe situations and out-of-character experiences. Upon reading this, you hereby agree that you forfeit all your rights to sue me and that I cannot be held liable for any psychological or physical damage caused by the fact that I use British English spelling and that this fanfic **_DOES NOT_** contain graphic depictions of a heterosexual nature. Digimon is copyrighted by Bandai and Toei Animation Ltd. Wolf O'Donnell is copyrighted by Nintendo Ltd, although that might have nothing to do with the fanfic. Digimon.EXE is based on Rockman.EXE, which is copyrighted by Capcom Ltd. Constructive criticism is very welcome.

* * * * *

Session 20: Akiramenaide  
    Gallantmon_v2.0 looked in front of him. The others were with him. Cyberdramon, Dobermon, MegaGargomon and Rena, all stood with him. They stood on a metallic platform made out of metallic tiles. This floated in a dark void that had the Hypnos symbol floating in it. This was the inside of the hacking rocket and they were face to face with what could only have been one thing, the very thing that they had come to destroy.  
    In front of them floated a black blob of energy with smaller blobs of energy orbiting it like electrons around a proton or Trekkies around William Shatner. It was obvious to the Digimon concerned that the sphere of black energy in front of them was the Juggernaut Virus. Destroying it would seem easy. It looked small.  
    That was when it enlarged. The virus revealed its true form to them. The thing looked like a black dodecahedron with a pentagonal-shaped platform on top. Huge metallic claws on chains shot out of the dodecahedron and from the top of the platform, a head appeared, followed by arms and a body. The creature looked like a hornless Devimon from the waist upwards with a cape instead of wings and had two sets of tubes, one red and one blue, going in and out of its torso. And surrounding the Juggernaut Virus was a shimmering, purple, translucent forcefield.  
    "You can't destroy my Juggernaut virus," laughed Yamaki insanely. "It will crush you miserable Digimon!"  
    "Not if I can help it!" retorted Gallantmon_v2.0. His voice, instead of sounding like a mature version of Guilmon, like it did when he was Gallantmon, sounded like a combination of Gallantmon's voice and Takato's voice. Perhaps that was because he was linked to Takato more closely than he had been before. A short, two-pronged spear appeared in his right hand. He fired a poweful beam of holy energy at Juggernaut.  
    The energy beam was absorbed by the Juggernaut's powerful shield.  
    "Behold the power of my UltraBarrier!" cackled Yamaki. "It is the ultimate forcefield. Nothing can penetrate it! Now, my wonderful creation, show them the power of your Darkness Zone attack!"  
    The Juggernaut roared and grunted, much like a B-movie version of Frankenstein would. It thrust its arms outwards and a huge beam of black energy that glowed red at its edges, fired out from the main body of the Juggernaut Virus. The Digimon leapt out of the way. The Juggernaut virus growled angrily at its mistake. It crossed its arms. One of its metallic claws then lashed out at a Digimon.  
    Rena suddenly found herself trapped in its metallic claw and lifted up away from the other Digimon.  
"Let go of me, you ugly virus!" she cried, as she launched her Spirit Strike against the virus. It was no use. The Juggernaut Virus was too powerful.  
    "Try attacking the Juggernaut together," suggested Jenrya. "Perhaps you can overload the UltraBarrier."  
    "Sounds good to me," said MegaGargomon. "Mega Barrage!" One of the Juggernaut's metallic claws lashed out at him. He dived out of the way, as another snaked out towards him.  
    Cyberdramon ducked underneath one himself, before firing his Desolation Claw against the Juggernaut's UltraBarrier.  
    Four attacks hit the UltraBarrier. Dobermon's attack, Cyberdramon's attack, MegaGargomon's and Gallantmon_v2.0's attacks all smashed into the forcefield. The purple UltraBarrier fell. The Juggernaut was suddenly exposed to the Digimon.  
    A smile spread across MegaGargomon's face.  
"Now that's much more like it!" he exclaimed. "Gargo Missile!" He fired two large missiles straight at the Juggernaut Virus, as Gallantmon_v2.0 leapt into the air and slashed at the Juggernaut's metallic claws with his sword. "Darn!" he cursed, as the Juggernaut Virus deflected his missiles with its metallic claws.  
    It only took one clean swipe with his sword to severe the chain of the metallic claw that held Rena.  
"You okay?" he asked her.  
    "I'm fine," replied Rena. "Watch out!" she cried, and she dived towards Gallantmon_v2.0, pushing him out of the way. The two of them narrowly missed being hit by one of Juggernaut's metallic claws. "Spirit Strike!" she called out, and launched four spirits of elemental power against the virus.  
    The Juggernaut regenerated its UltraBarrier. Rena's Spirit Strike never hit it. The virus grinned at the two Digimon. It uncrossed its arms. There was suddenly a huge explosion and it struck all the Digimon. A hatch opened up on the Juggernaut's side and out flew threw grenades. They landed on the floor in front of the Digimon and formed three viruses. Each one looked like an abstract, metallic cricket with spider's legs. One was red, the second was blue and the third was yellow.  
    "I hope you like my Juggernaut Virus' Cull Viruses," chuckled Yamaki. "They're specially designed to serve the Juggernaut and to destroy you!"  
    The blue one fired a jet of water at straight at Gallantmon. He leapt out of ther way.  
"This is too much," cried Gallantmon_v2.0. He noticed that the Juggernaut's arms were still uncrossed and that the metallic claws now floated about aimlessly. Was it that they could only be used if its arms were crossed? "Where's those Modify Advances?" he asked, as he dodged the blue Cull's water jet attack. 'They're attacking us according to which one of us is more suspectible to their attacks,' realised Gallantmon_v2.0.  
    "I've got one!" cried out Ruki. "Try this! DigiModify- Max Force activate!"  
    Rena rushed straight at the yellow Cull and slashed at it several times with her staff. Its spidery legs snapped off, as Rena leapt into the air. As she landed on top of the Cull, she thrust her staff into the yellow Cull, piercing it. The thing disintergrated and left behind a datacap, which she could took before the Juggernaut Virus could react.  
    Juggernaut crossed its arms again. The Digimon were too preoccupied with fighting the smaller viruses that they didn't notice the metallic claws moving about again until it was too late. The virus grabbed each Digimon and plucked them off the floor.  
    Only Gallantmon_v2.0 managed to avoid that fate. Having a special bond with his Operator was an advantage. It was as if his response time had doubled. It was if he had the strength of two people.  
"Put them down!" roared Gallantmon_v2.0, as he leapt into the air. An Advance appeared in his hands unbidden. Or was it that Takato had called for the Advance? "DigiModify- Power Quake activate!" He threw a large weight into the air, which hovered above the Juggernaut before it slammed down on top of it.  
    The UltraBarrier disintergrated and a roar of pain escaped Juggernaut's mouth. It flung the Digimon it held away from it.  
    "Rena, are you okay? Rena?"  
    "Dobermon! Dobermon, speak to me!"  
    "No, Cyberdramon, get up!"  
    "MegaGargomon, you okay, buddy? MegaGargomon?"  
    Gallantmon_v2.0 momentarily looked behind him. The Digimon were all lying unconscious on the metallic floor. He whirled back round to face the Juggernaut. 'It looks like it's just me, then,' he thought to himself. 'I'm alone now.'  
    "You're not alone, Gallantmon," Takato told him softly. "I'm there with you, remember? I know it sounds really corny, but we're one with each other now."  
    Gallantmon_v2.0 smiled and then nodded in agreement.  
"Yeah, we are, aren't we?" he said, and he couldn't repress that smile. It was good to know that his Operator... no... his friend was there with him. "Let's destroy this thing, shall we?"  
    "Yeah, let's," agreed Takato.  
    And though Gallantmon_v2.0 was inside the hacking rocket, he could hear Takato's friend wishing them luck. 'Thanks, but we won't need it,' thought Gallantmon_v2.0. 'We're going to beat that thing, without luck.' He roared a battle-cry, as he leapt into action and flew up towards the Juggernaut.  
    The virus crossed its arms again and its metallic claws began snaking their way towards Gallantmon_v2.0. Like snakes, they curved backwards before recoiling and striking like lightning. Their movements were snake-like, as quick as that of a snake's and every bit as deadly.  
    Gallantmon_v2.0 flew around them all though.  
"I've got to hit it while the UltraBarrier is still down," he murmured, as he flew towards it. "Take this!" He fired a powerful burst of bright, white energy towards the Juggernaut Virus.  
    That was just as the Juggernaut uncrossed its arms and thrust its clawed hands forward. A powerful beam of black energy flew out from the Juggernaut Virus and headed straight towards Gallantmon_v2.0's beam of white energy. The two beams of energy smashed together and pulsed against each other, like two geysers of water aimed at the other.  
    Gallantmon_v2.0 roared and put more effort into his powerful attack. His beam of energy pulsed and grew brighter and bigger. Juggernaut did the same thing.

* * * * *

    Yamaki was monitoring the Juggernaut's activity with great interest. He could sense that the Digimon, that was now fighting against his virus, was special. It was probably one of Dr. Lee's creations. 'How fitting,' thought Yamaki, as he turned to face the brown-haired youth that controlled it.  
"Why do you insist on fighting against me, boy?" asked Yamaki in a condescending tone. "Do you realise that you cannot hope to win?"  
    "I'll continue to fight no matter what the costs," replied Takato angrily. "I won't just stand by and let you destroy this world. I won't stand here and let you ruin so many lives!"  
    "You mean, like Dr. Lee ruined mine?" asked Yamaki curiously. For a moment, he looked genuinely human, but that soon changed when that usual insane smile spread across his lips. "I don't think that you can stop me, boy. I'll make the world pay. You know how the saying goes, 'An eye for an eye'."  
    Takato then realised that it was no use reasoning with the old man. He would have to destroy Yamaki's Juggernaut Virus. 'Where are the Officials?' he wondered, as he looked behind him. 'Are they still fighting against Yamaki's security guards?'  
"Gallantmon, let's destroy the Juggernaut," he said.

* * * * *

    "Right," agreed Gallantmon_v2.0, as he swung his sword at the Cull viruses, slicing them in half.  
    The Juggernaut Virus raised the UltraBarrier again. Though it looked like some whacked out Digimon/virus hybrid, it was clear from its facial expression that it was a virus. The thing had no emotions. Its entire face was devoid of emotions. The thing uncrossed its arms and raised them into the air. There was a powerful explosion and Gallantmon_v2.0 was suddenly caught up in it.  
    Gallantmon_v2.0 could hear Takato cry out in pain. 'Shoot! Takato really is one with me,' realised Gallantmon_v2.0. Any pain he received would be felt by Takato. 'So that's the sacrifice he made to keep me alive?' That wasn't good. He loved Takato like a little brother. Of all the things that he didn't want, number one on his list was to see any harm come to Takato.  
"Damn you, Hypnos!" he roared angrily. "If it weren't for you, Takato wouldn't have to suffer like this!" He felt angrier than before.  
    He saw the Juggernaut cross its arms again. 'It's going to try those metallic claws again,' thought Gallantmon_v2.0. 'Seen that.' One of the claws lunged at him. He flew out of the way. Another lunged at him and then another. He dodged one and parried the other with his sword. Mentally, he searched the D-Scanner for any Advances he could use against the Juggernaut Virus. There! That was a good one!  
    Quietly, Gallantmon_v2.0 selected the Advances he needed and started building up a combo. All he had to do for the time being, was to avoid being deleted by the Juggernaut Virus.  
"Don't you worry, Takato, I'll save your world," he murmured. "I won't let this maniac and his virus destroy it!"  
    One metallic claw lunged at him, but it never reached him. A furry blur rushed at it and pinned the claw down. Several more digital blurs rushed towards the Juggernaut and pinned down its extended claws. The chains that kept the claws attached to the Juggernaut were stretched. The remaining claws lashed out at the Digimon that dared to pin their mates down. The rest were shot to pieces by powerful missiles.  
    "MegaGargomon?" exclaimed Gallantmon_v2.0 in surprise. "Cyberdramon? Dobermon? Rena?"  
    "What? Did you really think that we'd stay out cold for long?" asked Rena with a smile on her face.  
    "Go and take out the Juggernaut Virus, Gallantmon!" urged MegaGargomon.  
    "Yeah," agreed Cyberdramon.  
    "We're behind you one hundred percent," Dobermon told Gallantmon_v2.0.  
    A smile spread across Gallantmon_v2.0's lips. His Digimon friends were counting on him too. Well, that was fine by him.  
"All right, Juggernaut, time for a taste of my wrath!" he shouted. He put all his Advances in order and they merged. Their digital data intermingled until there was only one Advance left. "DigiModify- UltraSword activate!" A powerful sword appeared in his hands. It was so large, he had to hold it with both hands.  
    Juggernaut roared and uncrossed its arms, thrusting its clawed hands out in front of it. The Virus fired a powerful beam of dark energy once again. This time, Gallantmon_v2.0 flew straight over the Darkness Zone attack. Gallantmon_v2.0 raised the UltraSword above his head. He then brought it crashing down towards the virus and fell down to the floor, the UltraSword cleaving through the Juggernaut Virus.  
    The UltraBarrier disappeared and the Juggernaut Virus clutched at its body, before a split appeared down its forehead and its torso and the dodecahedron that made up its lower body. The Juggernaut Virus was on its very last legs. With a final dying breath, if such a thing was possible, the Juggernaut Virus split into two halves and then exploded.

* * * * *

    "No, my baby!" screamed Yamaki in disbelief. "What have you done to my beautiful creation?"  
    An alarm blared through the compound.  
"Warning! Virus overload!" warned an automatic voice. "Virus overload! Vir... Xqwelpdgkuhsder..." The voice suddenly faded into a hissing crackle and was no more. The alarm conked out too.  
    One of the rocket engines exploded and the entire place began shaking violently. Dust and small bits of plaster began to fall from the ceiling, as cracks appeared in the wall around them. The Hypnos Base was falling apart and it seemed as if it would collapse or even explode around them.  
    Takato quickly pulled his D-Scanner out of its port.  
"You okay, Gallantmon?" he asked his Digimon.  
    "Yeah," replied Gallantmon_v2.0. "How about you?"  
    "There's no time for that!" cried Ruki, as she grabbed Takato by the arm. "Let's get out of here while we still can."  
    Jenrya looked back at Dr. Yamaki.  
"Not without Yamaki, we don't," he protested, as he ran straight back towards the old man. A huge metallic girder suddenly fell and blocked his way, however. He wanted to get past, but more started piling up in front of him. Through the dust, he could clearly see Yamaki laughing insanely. The old man didn't seem to be moving from his position.  
    "Do you really think that you've defeated me?" laughed Yamaki insanely. "I've still got my Hypnos Organisation!" He laughed out more insanely than before. It was clear that he had lost it completely. "Can't you see? Hypnos is forever! Soon, it will just be me and Hypnos, celebrating our victory!"  
    Ryo rushed back and grabbed Jenrya by the arm, pulling the blue-haired youth back.  
"Come on!" he called out.  
    "But what about Yamaki?" protested Jenrya.  
    "Forget him!" shouted Ryo, before he pulled his lover back.  
    "I'll be back!" laughed Yamaki. "Don't think I won't be back, coz I will! I'll be back and you'll all be sorry!" He descended into a fit of insane laughter. "Hypnos Forever!" There was suddenly a large explosion and the Hypnos Base was completely destroyed.

* * * * *

    There was suddenly a large explosion and the cloaked Digimon looked behind him. A smile spread across his pale face, as he clutched at the spherical data packet in his black, clawed hands. The Digimon, who floated above the path, turned round.  
"So, Hypnos failed in destroying the humans, eh?" he chuckled, as he absorbed the data packet. "Well, that's all right. I can do it myself. Who needs those Hypnos jerks, anyway?" His fanged smile widened. "I'll destroy the weak, worthless humans all by myself!" He laughed and his evil laughter echoed all around him and through the remnants of the Dark Ocean.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

    Ryo digitally transferred the money to the cashier. All money was digital, since everybody had a D-Scanner. There was no need for credits cards or for cheques or for anything else. Transfer the money from your personal daily use (PDU) account from your D-Scanner or don't buy anything at all.  
    Working part-time in an upmarket café downtown had been a great idea. Ryo had been raking in money ever since he left the Devas. After the Juggernaut incident, he had decided quite firmly that the life of a Deva wasn't for him. It was for Jenrya, Ruki and Takato, but not for him. It wasn't for Alice, either. If he remembered correctly, she had started working in the Modify Chip Shop that Takato's father ran. Last he heard, she was doing well too.  
    "Hey, Ryo!"  
    A frown spread across the brown-haired youth's face. He turned round and saw someone standing outside near the outside tables.  
"Takato! Hi, there!" he greeted, as he walked over to his friend. "How have you been?"  
    "Great, thanks," replied Takato, as Ryo guided him over to a table. "So, everything okay here?"  
    "Everything's fine," replied Ryo. He knew there was no need for Takato to ask how Jenrya was, since the two saw each other at school almost every other day. "You can't believe how good business has been lately, especially since the last of those DarkNet viruses were flushed out of the normal networks." He sighed. "The usual?"  
    Takato nodded.  
"Yes, please," he replied.  
    "I'll be back in a sec," replied Ryo, before he darted off.  
    'Well, Hypnos is gone,' thought Takato. Though they never recovered Dr. Yamaki's body, charred or otherwise, Takato was sure that they had all seen the last of Hypnos. It was one week after the Hypnos Base had been destroyed. Takato was now making a living out of being a Deva. This time, he always made sure that he had a back-up copy of Gallantmon in his D-Scanner, just in case. There was, after all, no point in being unprepared.  
    Takato mused about the entire ordeal. It had been harrowing. It had been life-threatening. However, in some strange and twisted way, he had kind of enjoyed it. The Hypnos incident had helped him grow up and really get to terms with his being a man.  
"Gallantmon, do you ever wonder what this world would be like if Yamaki's research had been chosen instead of Dr. Lee's?" he asked his Digimon.  
    "Don't talk about that, Takato," protested Gallantmon. His D- Scanner (Takato's D-Scanner?) sat on the formica table in front of Takato. The lid was open and on the tiny screen was Gallantmon's face. He had reverted back from Gallantmon_v2.0 to Gallantmon and was no longer 100% in synch with his young Operator. "If his project had been chosen, I wouldn't be here with you."  
    "Perhaps," mused Takato, "or perhaps you would be physically here with me." A real live Digimon that you could touch and feed and play with. Now that would have been fun. "Well, I wouldn't give this up for the entire world," he told Gallantmon. "I wouldn't want anything to change at all."

**_To be continued..._**


	22. Session Epilogue: Renai no Jikyuu

**Digimon.EXE**

**By Wolf O'Donnell**

WARNING! May contain Alternative Universe situations and out-of-character experiences. Upon reading this, you hereby agree that you forfeit all your rights to sue me and that I cannot be held liable for any psychological or physical damage caused by the fact that I use British English spelling and that this fanfic **_DOES NOT_** contain graphic depictions of a heterosexual nature. Digimon is copyrighted by Bandai and Toei Animation Ltd. Wolf O'Donnell is copyrighted by Nintendo Ltd, although that might have nothing to do with the fanfic. Digimon.EXE is based on Rockman.EXE, which is copyrighted by Capcom Ltd. Constructive criticism is very welcome.

* * * * *

Session Epilogue: Renai no Jikuu  
    "Takato, I'm nearly finished with home page maintenance," announced Guilmon, as he stood in the middle of the terminal that represented Takato's personal homepage. He suddenly sneezed. The Digimon was suffering from a nasty bout of Flu.1160 virus that had somehow made him de-digivolve all the way back to Guilmon.  
    "Oh, yeah..." said Takato absent-mindedly.  
    A frown spread across Guilmon's face.  
"I work and work and all you can say is 'yeah'?" he asked Takato. He found it rather unfair that he had to do Takato's home page maintenace. After all, he knew the computer had a keyboard. Why couldn't his Operator fix the homepage himself? "Say, Takato, isn't it nearly 10 a.m.?"

* * * * *

    "Oh shoot, you're right!" exclaimed Takato all of a sudden, as he sat upright. He quickly disconnected his D-Scanner from the computer and shoved it into his pockets. If a record was broken for fastest dash down the stairs to the front door, it was probably broken by now.  
    After all, Takato didn't want to be late. If he was to meet Ruki in front of the metro station at 10am, he would have to hurry.  
"I'm leaving to meet Ruki now," he called out to his mum quickly, as he put his shoes on quickly and tied them in a rush. "See you later! Bye!" He rushed out quickly before his mother could get a word in. "Man, she's going to be peeved!" he exclaimed, as he ran through the streets.  
    The streets weren't crowded, as his parents' electronics shop was situated within a suburb. It wasn't even a very long trip, especially as he made a short-cut through the park. Takato took a look at his watch.  
"Oh no!" he exclaimed in horror. "I'm going to be late!" He knew how Ruki hated it when he was late and dreaded what she would do. "Huh?" Takato suddenly skidded to a halt.  
    The most surprising sight greeted his two eyes. There was no one at the metro station. Takato looked around him and began to wonder.  
"Guilmon, I haven't received any new messages, have I?" he asked his digital friend.  
    "Let me, see," murmured Guilmon, as he checked Takato's D-Scanner, "nope. No new messages."  
    That was strange.  
"What about missed calls?" asked Takato in concern. Had Ruki become so fed up of waiting that she had gone ahead without him? He certainly hoped not.  
    "Nope, no missed calls," replied Guilmon. "Say, isn't that Ruki over there?"  
    Takato turned round and saw a girl walking up to them. 'Let's see... red hair tied back, T-shirt with broken heart on it, jeans... Yep, that's her,' thought Takato, as he inspected the approaching girl.  
"You're late!" he cried angrily. He didn't like being put through all that just for her to be late.  
    "Sorry," apologised Ruki in a sincere, apologetic manner. "Sheesh, don't look so mad!"  
    "What, like you mean like you are very time I'm late?" retorted Takato.  
    Ruki sighed, rolling her eyes at that comment.  
"Bygones," she commented about those events and before Takato could make another comment, she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. 'That should shut him up,' she thought, as she saw his cheeks go red. "So, shall we get going or what?"  
    "Yeah, sure," replied Takato sheepishly, as he became as red as his Digimon. "Yeah, let's get going."  
    It seemed to Ruki that she could get Takato to do anything. If she acted tough or if she acted nice, she would still get him to bend her way. Did he even have a backbone or was he so hopelessly in love her that he would do anything for her? She reached out and held Takato's hand.  
"Come on, then," she said, noticing that he hadn't even moved. She tugged on his arm and he budged. She pulled him along with her and together they made their way down the stairs to the metro station.  


    It wasn't a long trip to the centre of the city and because he was a student, it was free! Ah, Takato loved the perks of being a young student. He emerged from the metro line and breathed in the fresh city air. Then he choked, as a dilapidated car chugged past, spraying thick black smoke into the air.  
    "Hey!" shouted Takato, shaking a fist angrily at the driver. "Get your exhaust checked!"  
    "You okay, Takato?" asked Guilmon worriedly.  
    The youth nodded, although why he did so, he wasn't sure. After all, Guilmon couldn't see him nod, could he?  
"Yeah, I'm fine, Guilmon," replied Takato. He turned round to face Ruki whom was unaffected, having only just emerged from the metro line staircase. "So, what had you in mind for Alice's birthday present?" he asked Ruki.  
    "You know how she's started to collect antiques? Well, I thought we could get her something like that," replied Ruki calmly. She delved into her pockets and brought out her D-Scanner, flipping the lid open. "Renamon, can you find an antique shop for us?" she asked her Digimon.  
    "Yes, Ruki," replied Renamon with a nod of her digital head. Takato and Ruki waited, but it wasn't long before a holographic map appeared over the Ruki's D-Scanner. "There's one quite nearby," announced the furry Digimon. There was a small blinking symbol shaped like a fox's head on the map and another symbol displaying their current position. "All you have to do is go straight on, take the first left, the second right and its on your right."  
    "Thanks, Renamon," thanked Ruki, as she put her D-Scanner away. "Come on, let's..." began Ruki, only to trail off. She saw something out of the corner of her eye and turned round. She couldn't believe it. Yes, she did hate shopping, but this was a sale! She could get clothes at a discount. "Let's go shop for some clothes first," she corrected herself.  
    Takato looked incredibly surprised.  
"What?" he exclaimed. This wasn't like Ruki at all. What had got into her? "Shopping for clothes? Are you feeling all right?"  
    "Come on!" cried Ruki, as she grabbed him and pulled him along with her. It was one of those trendy clothes shops, but Ruki didn't care about that. All she wanted was to get some cheap clothes at a discount, as long as they didn't make her look too feminine. She hated that and she hated spending too much money on something she was going to wear. "Don't worry," she said, upon looking at the expression on his face. "I'm not going to be anything like that girl in your class. I won't take long."  
    "Won't take long? Yeah, right," muttered Takato under his breathe, ten minutes later, as he waited outside the changing rooms. They were actually more like cubicles set against the wall and the youth couldn't imagine them being very private. Still, that was where they were. "You know, Guilmon, I always thought Ruki was a bit of a tomboy... but this!" He sighed and shook his head. "All the things she picked were so tomboyish. I swear, she probably even wears boy's underwear."  
    "Or maybe even swimwear," suggested Guilmon.  
    Takato's pupils widened at the sound of those words.  
"Are you nuts, Guilmon?" he asked his Digimon. "A girl can't wear boy's swimwear. That would just be... rude." That was when he thought about it. Ruki wearing boy's swimwear. His cheeks flushed so red he looked more like a tomato with hair. The fact that he was in the swimwear section didn't help matters. He tripped and fell.  
    The door's hinge broke and he fell down to the floor. Takato looked up. It was lucky for Ruki that the cubicle was large enough for her to avoid being flattened.  
"Hi," he said nervously, with a sheepish smile across his face. The look on her face soon wiped that smile off his face, as he realised what she was about to do. "Ruki, I'm so sorry," he apologised, as he quickly leapt to his feet. "I didn't mean it. I just tripped and fell and you see..."  
    Slap!  
    "Okay, so I guess I deserved that," said Takato, as he rubbed his sore cheek.  
    "Yeah, you did," agreed Ruki with her arms crossed for a very obvious reasons. "Now get a shop assistant, quick!"  


    Takato looked around the dust-covered shop. It seemed that nobody had come to buy anything for years. It had been a doddle to find the shop. It had, however, been much more difficult apologising to Ruki.  
"So, Jen, you got any ideas?" asked Takato, as he held his D-Scanner up to his head like a phone.  
    "Yeah," replied Jenrya on the other end of the connection. "Why don't you get her something really, really nice? I'm sure she'll be impressed enough to forgive you."  
    "You think?" asked Takato.  
    "Takato? Where are you?" shouted Ruki all of a sudden.  
    The shock of Ruki's shouting nearly made Takato drop the D-Scanner.  
"I'll speak to you later, bye!" he said quickly, before switching the phone feature off and placing his D-Scanner back into his pocket. "I'm over here, Ruki!" he called out to the auburn-haired girl. He saw her make her way past all the old grandfather clocks and straight towards him.  
    There was an angry look on Ruki's face, as she approached him.  
"What do you think you're doing back here?" she asked him. "We can't get her a grandfather clock!"  
    "How about a Granddaughter clock?" joked Takato nervously, as he glanced around him as best as he could. He didn't move his head though, just his eyes, as he scanned the area all around him to find something. "You know, I only just remembered that I have to go get my grandfather a present," he lied quickly. "Why don't you go look for something for Alice and I'll go look for something for him."  
    "Okay," she sighed, before storming off.  
    Takato heard someone whispering to get his attention. He turned round and saw an old man with a moustache and a single pony-tail of white hair on his otherwise bald head.  
"Oh, hi," he greeted the old man.  
    "I couldn't help but overhear your conversation with that nice young girl," said the old man, as he hobbled over towards Takato. "She sounded pretty angry with you. Did you do something wrong?" Takato nodded and told the man everything. The old man listened carefully, nodding stiffly every now and then. "I see your problem," he stated in a preoccupied tone of voice, as if he was thinking up of a solution. "Ah, yes! I have just the thing. You wait right here." With that, he shuffled away extremely slowly.  
    Every step the old man took seemed to last half a minute and five minutes seemed to pass without the old man getting very far. Yet Takato still waited. If this old man had a solution, he might as well wait and wait he did. To Takato, it seemed like a day had passed before the old man came back.  
    The old man had a smile on his face, as he raised a hand. From his hand dangled a wonderful, circular gold pendant on a gold chain. Carved into the front was a sun design that was more like a circle surrounded by triangles to make a sun pattern.  
"The symbol on the front is the Crest of Courage, as worn by the famous Yagami Taichi, the first President of Phyle," announced the old man. "On the back is the symbol of the Crest of Friendship, as worn by the founder of the Orbital Space Ring, Ishida Yamato." His worn, withered old hands then opened the pendant open to reveal that it was in actual fact a locket. "And in here, you can place some photographs."  
    "I'll take it," announced Takato. "Thanks, Mr..."  
    "Izumi," said the old man with a smile on his face.  


    "Well, I found that present, didn't I?" exclaimed Takato, as the waiter placed down one large ice cream soda, for two.  
    Ruki still had her arms crossed and her eyes closed. That Takato had some nerve. Picking out a present for Alice that she didn't like and then ordering an ice cream for two.  
"Look, bandana-boy, I think that we should stop seeing each other," she told him. "We're just too different."  
    "Psst... Takato, the locket," whispered Guilmon.  
    "Oh, yeah!" exclaimed Takato in sudden realisation, as he delved into his pockets. He had gotten into an argument with Ruki soon after leaving the antique shop and it was so engrossing, he had forgotten about the present he had gotten her. "Ruki, while I was in the antique shop, I also got you a little something." He pulled it out of his pocket and let it dangle in front of him.  
    Due to the artificial light within the Orbital Space Ring, the locket didn't glitter as it would have down on Earth. Yet, it still shone bright enough to catch Ruki's eyes. She turned round and looked at it. The thing wasn't girly and seemed unisex in nature.  
"You got that, just for me?" she asked, as she pointed at the locket. "How much did it cost?"  
    "Quite a bit," replied Takato. "I had to go to a pawn broker's and sell most of my favourite DigiModify Advances." He had worked hard for those DigiModify Advances, especially the CyberPrism ones. They were incredibly rare due to the fact the viruses occurred only in the DarkNet. "Go on, put it on," he told her.  
    Gingerly, Ruki took the locket from Takato and placed it around her neck. She opened it up and looked inside.  
"What's with the lack of photos?" asked Ruki curiously.  
    "I didn't have any with me right now, so I decided to keep it empty, so you could put whatever you wanted in it," replied Takato.  
    Ruki smiled.  
"Thank you, Takato," she thanked him, before leaning over to kiss him on the cheek. She loved it whenever he went red enough to enrage a bull. "I should have known better to think you were a jerk," she said, before taking up a spoon. "You're a klutz, but definitely not a jerk."  
    "Uh... thanks... I guess," said Takato nervously, before taking up a spoon. He took one look at Ruki before taking a look at the ice cream in front of him. School would be starting again in three day's time. He couldn't wait. Ruki was transferring to his school and that made it even more enticing. He thought of the fun they would have together and hoped that she would end up in the same class as him. That would make things even better. Yes, it certainly would...

* * * * *

**Next time on Digimon.EXE:  
    Takato and friends go back to school. You would think that means boring classes, especially with Hypnos gone. Huh, fat chance of that. Takato gets a new model of the D-Scanner, a D-Tector, and someone within the school tries to hypnotise the school kids into joining the Blue Dragon Crime Syndicate. Who is it? What is the Dragon Syndicate up to? Find out next time in this fanfic's sequel, Digimon(2).EXE!
**

**_To be continued..._**


End file.
